Invasion
by Falcon Strife
Summary: -Hiatus- Earth is being invaded by aliens. The shamans must team up with an American defence team led by a renowned xeno-exterminator, Stone. But what intentions do each side have for the shamans?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

  
  
    "Ma'am, we have confirmation. Enemy ships have settled in Washington and Toronto," one man clad in uniform stated.     "Is that so?" the blonde girl replied. "What else?"     "There are ships in London, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Tokyo as well," a woman with a similar uniform added.     "Oh, really? I want population counts for both Earthians and those scum in the Asia area."     "Ma'am, shouldn't you be more concerned about Washington and Toronto?" a second man asked.     "I already no the populations for there, dummy."     "Uh, right! Hong Kong: Human, 84.97%. Shaman, 15.03%. EMP, 42%. XFR, 63% and counting within the next week. Estimated populations of xenomorphs are as follows; XGS Level 1, 0.84 million. XGS Level 2, 35 thousand. XGS Level 3, 17 thousand,000. Their ship forces are still unknown."     She crossed her arms over her chest. "So many of them. They must be recuting class M-soldiers and carriers for their disgusting spawns," she said icily. "Bastards. What about Tokyo?"     "Tokyo: Human, 96.54%. Shaman, 3.46%. EMP, 73%. XFR, 86%, and that may also increase. Estimated populations of xenomorphs have not yet been determined. It's likely they are using Hong Kong as a distraction so they can operate in Tokyo without notice."     "Hmm." She looked down while thinking. "Well I guess Tokyo is shit out of luck."     "What are you saying?!" A red headed man demanded as he stormed into the room. "Our primary specimens are IN Tokyo! You can't just abandon that!"     "Doctor, you keep going on about these specimens. What's so great about them?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.     "What is so great about them?! They could be our chance to build an effective army against these, these aliens, if you'll forgive the civilian term. We cannot allow those specimens to be lost."     "Ma'am, it is only a matter of time before Oyamada notices what's happening. We cannot risk losing his funding or the treaty with Tokyo," the first woman said quietly.     "Hmph. And what do you suggest we do? I don't care for political procedure, and neither does..."     "You are going to take a team to Tokyo," a gruff voice said.     "Hmm?" She turned, then looked adoringly at the largely built blonde who stood before her. "Eh?"     "You're more effective on the field than in some office. You are in charge of getting a selected team to Tokyo, isolating those specimens, and making sure Oyamada is secure."     "Alright!" she cried happily. "So when do we leave?"     "Right now," he said cooly.     "Alright!" she cried, then after a quick salute she ran out of the room to prepare to leave.     "You sure putting her in charge was a good idea, Stone?" the woman asked.     "Hmph. Heros aren't born till they do some stupid ass stunt and live to tell about it," he replied. "Let's just hope we can get those specimens the hell out of there before some idiot reveals them to those alien maggots."   
  


_(The screen fades to a beating heart. After a moment the scene fades to Yoh and Manta curled up, sleeping peacefully, then it fades to Ryu hugging Lyserg sleepily as the emerald boy kisses him tenderly. Another moment later the screen fades to Horo, who is curled up in a tight ball. Next to him is Ren, who is lying on his back while smirking in satisfaction in his sleep, and Shizuka is on the other side of Horo, snoring with a silly grin.)_

  
  
    Raijin's eyes shot open. He lay there taking shaky breathes, then sat up and looked out the window. For a moment he stared at the sky, then his eyes narrowed. He quickly made his way outside the temple and stared at the sky, then his eyes dilated. "Zenkarya..." 


	2. A Strange Night Indeed

**Chapter 1**

  
  
    Hao and Lyserg sat outside the door with similar devilish grins.     "Lyserg, have I mentioned today how much I love you?" Hao snickered.     "Tell me later," he hissed. "So which technique do you think Yoh's using?"     "Hmm... Probably something romantic," Hao replied.     "Yoh, it's gonna rip!" Manta yelped from the other side of the door.     "That's romantic?" Lyserg asked.     "What are you two doing?" Faust asked with a cocked eyebrow.     "Gah!" the two yelled in unison as they jumped to their feet.     "Nani?" Yoh poked his head out the door.     "Nani?" Manta repeated while peeking out with a similar, confused expression. "Hi, Hao. Hi Lyserg."     Yoh grinned. "Whacha doing out here?"     Hao got an irritated expression, then pulled open the door. He and Lyserg got similar expressions of disappointment when they found Yoh fully dressed and Manta wearing a pair of Yoh's old pyjamas, though the shirt just didn't seem to fit. "What's going on?" the older Asakura snapped.     Yoh grinned. "I thought Manta would look cute in some of my old PJ's."     "But the shirt doesn't fit," Manta sighed.     "IS THAT ALL?!" Lyserg and Hao yelled.     Faust couldn't help but to chuckle at the disappointed boys. "Hao, Lyserg, get to bed."     "Hey! You're not my dad!" Hao snapped.     Yoh watched with a smile as Hao got into an argument with Faust, then he blinked and looked back towards the window.     Lyserg rolled his eyes as Hao reluctantly gave up on the argument, then noticed Yoh. "Yoh-kun?"     Yoh was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Nothing. It felt like somebody was watching, but I guess I was imagining it," he replied.     Manta smiled, then hugged Yoh. "Yoh-kun..."     Yoh smiled, then looked up at Lyserg with an ashamed but silly expression. "Lyserg, you're so nasty."     Lyserg rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Gomenassai," he replied sheepishly, then thought. "I'm gonna go check on Ryu."     "Good idea," Faust agreed, watching the boy with a bit of annoyance. "I swear, since he and Hao finally made friends, that boy has been getting out of hand," he muttered when Lyserg was no longer in earshot. Yoh smiled. "But at least they're friends."   
  
    "Stupid Ren," Horo muttered. "Oh, you gotta do what master Ren says 'cause I'm too tired to get a snack," he muttered in a high pitched version of Ren's voice. "Hmph."     Koloro looked worriedly at him.     "Master says to move it," Bason said as he appeared.     The blunette groaned. "Tell Ren I said he can go screw himself," he snapped. "I'm too tired and too sore."     Bason and Koloro stared at Horo for a moment, then they both sighed.     "Ko koro ko?" she asked.     "The temple," he snapped. "At least there I can get a comfortable night's sleep."     "And if Master decides to go to the temple?" Bason asked.     Horo grinned. "That's where having Raijin for a cousin comes in handy. He won't let Ren touch me, and he'll make Shizuka do push ups if she tries to help Ren."     The two spirits groaned, then Bason floated back towards the hotel while Koloro followed Horo.     Horo sighed. "Dammit, when I started dating him, I didn't know I'd be throwing away my dignity. And I do NOT act like a pig!"     Koloro sighed, wondering how long Horo would rant this time. She thought about how strange it was that Horo and Ren seemed to have such a dysfunctional relationship when she and Bason never seemed to have problems. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a snort.     Horo stopped dead in his tracks, then turned angrily towards the sound. "Okay, Hao!" he yelled. "I know that was you! Get the hell out here now!" He growled more when there was no response. "Hao, I'm warning you! If you don't get your ass out here NOW, I'm going to..."     "Koro koro ko!" Koloro cried as she shot to Horo's side and tugged the sleeve of his jacket.     "Hmm?" Horo looked down curiously. "Not Hao? Must be Ren, then."     "Koro! Koro!" she disagreed, shaking her head. "Koro koko ro!"     Horo looked with confusion at his partner, then sighed. "Fine then." After a moment he cried out as the sound of a shotgun being fired filled the area, followed by a bullet that zipped past his arm. "Jesus!" he yelled while turning around. He looked around frantically, then started backing up.     "Koro koro ko!"     "You're right," he replied, then the two ran down the street as quickly as possible.   
  
    "The specimens have been located, Miss T.J."     "Good. Anything else?"     "They are living with potential endangerments to the mission, Ma'am."     "What class?"     "There is potential for XEM levels one and two, as well as civilian threat."     She crossed her arms over her chest while thinking. "The XEM's are xeno-boar, right? Very well then. What is the current status of the specimens?"     "Two of them are currently located together. The other two are currently separated."     "And Oyamada's status?"     "There is no activity. It's likely he hasn't been informed of the situation."     "Hmph." She closed her eyes while thinking. "There have been no attacks?"     "Negative. One of our ground men already encountered a xeno-boar. It was tracking one of the potential XEM's."     "What? Did you detain it?!"     "No. It was a shaman, and the equipment was unavailable."     "You idiots! Track that shaman down and make sure it's detained!"     "Yes, Ma'am."     "Ugh. No wonder Stone works alone," she muttered while rubbing her sinuses.   
  
    "Raijin, you gotta snap out of it sooner or later," Shizuka said with an annoyed expression.     Marcus stared at his friend. "Three days and still no response. This doesn't make sense."     Raijin continued to sit in prayer before the fire, repeating a mantra over and over again. Suddenly his eyes shot open, then he got quickly to his feet.     "Raijin, what is it?"     "The Zenkarya," he replied quietly, staring into the flames.     "The what now?" Shizuka asked with a cocked eyebrow.     "Zenkarya," he repeated. "A race of demons who could transform a human or shaman with the prick of a needle. They would come to Earth from the demon realm inconsistently and steal away women and transform strong men into demons like them."     Marcus cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. "I think somebody's been reading too many books."     Raijin looked back, glaring at the brunette. "Marcus, something's going on! I can feel it! It feels exactly like the dream I had when Yohmei tried to kill me!"     "Hmm... Seems like every kid he tries to kill ends up with mental disorders," Marcus said thoughtfully. "I mean, Yoh's dopey, Hao's sadistic, Shizuka's dumb, and you're just plain weird."     Raijin glared at him, then looked up hearing footsteps in the hall. He walked out and saw Horo bent over slightly, trying to catch his breath, while Koloro float next to him with a worried expression. "Horokeu, what are you doing here?" he asked with confusion.     "Well, originally I was coming over to get away from Ren," he said after a minute. "But then somebody tried to shoot me..."     Raijin stared. "Are you alright, Itoko?"     The blunette nodded slightly.     "Heh. Maybe you should just head back to the hotel," Marcus laughed. "Raijin's going nuts."     "Hmm?" Horo looked up curiously.     "Raijin's been reading too much science fiction," Shizuka laughed.     "I have not!" he yelled. "This feeling is Zenkarya! I felt it when we were in America, too!"     Marcus began to laugh. "Raijin, you need to take it easy. Next you'll be trying to tell us that comet the other night was a UFO."     "A what now?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.     Marcus suddenly became serious. "An Unidentified Flying Object, often containing hostile creatures from far reaches of the galaxy, no, the universe!"     Shizuka blinked watching her brother's expression change, then she grinned and joined Marcus. "Yes! The creatures will often look to experiment on only the best specimens. Intelligent, strong, attractive, heck, sometimes even religious."     Horo watched as his older cousin paled, then covered his mouth to muffle a laugh.     "And even though the government wants us to believe that they want females to impregnate with their ugly, slimy, evil spawn, it is really the males that the aliens seek," Marcus said gravely. "They wait until a young man is alone or falls asleep, then they abduct him and do all sorts of medical experimentation, and then they plant the egg."     Raijin shook. "H-How do they do that?" he asked shakily.     Marcus slid next to him and whispered into his ear.     The red head's eyes widened in horror as Marcus told him the terrible 'truth', his trembling becoming more intense.     Chen awoke to the sound of his son's terrified scream, and rushed to the room where Raijin sat on the floor, shaking. Meters away, Marcus, Shizuka and Horo Horo were laughing uncontrollably as Raijin whimpered.     "What is going on here?!" the head of the temple demanded angrily as the half a dozen other priests peered into the room.     "Raijin, you should have seen the look on your face!" Horo exclaimed, laughing so hard that tears ran down his face.     "You're not funny!" Raijin yelled while looking at the three.     "What happened?" Chen asked again, shocked to see his son in tears instead of his daughter.     "Ah, we were just foolin' around," Marcus said with a grin.     "They told Raijin about aliens," Mayumi said with a sigh as she appeared.     Chen cocked an eyebrow. "It must have been more than that."     "They told him aliens plant eggs in a guy's _ahem_..."     Raijin sniffled as he stood up, then glared at the three. "You're not funny at all! Just because you three are too incompetent to feel the Zenkarya is no reason to mock me!"     "I'm sorry, Raijin, but it really was funny," Marcus laughed.     Raijin's eyes became glassy again. "Why do I even love you?!" he demanded angrily, then stormed out of the room.     "Uh oh," Shizuka said as her smile faded. "Um... Guys..."     Marcus blinked. "Man. We were just kidding around."     Horo stared. "Geez..."     "Raijin, wait!" Marcus called while running after his friend.     Chen grumbled, then looked to the remaining two. "You three are becoming irrationally immature. I strongly suggest you learn to control yourself before you seriously hurt somebody."     "Hai," the two replied quietly, then they left to find and apologize to Raijin.     "Anata, perhaps you were too harsh," Mayumi said quietly. "Shizuka and Horo are just kids, and you know Marcus would never mean to harm Raijin."     "They need to grow up, Mayumi," he said angrily.     "Anata, why? The temple supports free spirit, and Raijin did sound pretty foolish."     He sighed while looking to the window. "You couldn't begin to comprehend my reasons, even if I told you, Mayumi," he said quietly. "Find Raijin and ask him to come to the shrine."   
  


~§~

  
  
    This takes place when Yoh is 16, and somehow (use your imagination) Hao turned good. That's not to say Lyserg didn't take a couple years to get used to him. Anyhoo, this is definitely gonna be my most warped piece of work. o_O;; I'd like to give credit to my sister, Shrimpy Lil Shaman, for helping me get the plot set up. 


	3. Morning Attack

Chapter 2  
  
"Where is Horo Horo?" Anna asked icily the next morning as Ren entered the dining area.  
"Bason said he was going to the temple for the night," Ren said with annoyance. "Ainu-baka."  
"Very well then," Anna said cooly. "Ren, you're washing the dishes and laundry today."  
"NANI?!"  
Manta and Yoh smiled nervously at the Tao, then Manta said, "We'd do it, but Anna's orders are nontransferable."  
"Manta. Yoh. You will do the groceries today," she snapped.  
"H-Hai!" they yelped while quickly eating their rice.  
Ryu looked at the two with a nervous smile, then looked to the girl. "Anna-san, will I still be in charge of yard work today?"  
"Hai."  
Ryu nodded, then everybody's attention whipped towards the basement upon hearing a psychotic laughter.  
"Faust..." Yoh said shakily. "Has poor Faust lost his mind again?"  
Manta smiled, then looked down at the table. "No. He just likes to do that."  
Anna quirked an eyebrow. "Lyserg, make sure that basement door is locked tightly. I don't need him necromancing on any of the employees or costumers."  
"Hai, Anna-san," Lyserg agreed immediately.  
"Oh, you guys," Manta sighed. "He's not really crazy. He just does that when he's bored."  
The group stared at Manta, then Lyserg sighed. "I think I'll get to work on that lock."  
"Manta. Yoh. Get the groceries now," Anna snapped.  
"Hai, Anna-san!" they cried in unison, then ran out the door.  
Ryu laughed nervously. "I suppose I should get to the lawn," he said, then stood and walked out.  
  
"Raijin, are you ready?" Chen asked quietly.  
The redhead looked at his father quietly. "For what?"  
He closed his eyes. "For your next level of training."  
"Of course I'm ready!" he said quickly.  
Chen looked quietly at his son, then walked over and placed a hand on his son's face, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry to place this burden on you. Focus now."  
Shizuka, Marcus and Horo watched with confusion from the doorway.  
"Man, don't tell me Chen believed him," Marcus said with a weirded out expression.  
"Well, Raijin believed us when we told him about the aliens," Shizuka offered. "Maybe stupidity runs in the family."  
Horo quirked an eyebrow. "It runs in Oji-san's half, not Oba-san's half," he muttered.  
Marcus grinned. "Hey, maybe Chen and Raijin are the aliens!"  
Shizuka cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not THAT weird!"  
"I didn't say you were one."  
"Hello! Chen is my dad!"  
Horo laughed, as he straightened up. "Welp, Koloro and I are gonna head out. Anna's probably gonna go ballistic 'cause I wasn't there this morning."  
  
"Manta, are you sure you can handle that?" Yoh asked, casting a worried glance down to his blonde friend.  
"Hai," Manta replied with a smile, not at all bothered by the large bags of groceries he was carrying.  
"Okay then," Yoh said with a smile, then looked up ahead. After a moment he frowned. "Awful foggy."  
"Yeah," Manta replied while coming to a stop and looking around. "Strange. It isn't that humid ou... GAH!" he cried as a greenish blast hit his back and sent him flying forward.  
"Manta!" Yoh cried while dropping the groceries and running to Manta, who lay still on the ground. "Manta?! Can you hear me?!" His expression became scared as he gently placed a hand on the large burn that went through the blonde's shirt and into his flesh, then he quickly and carefully scooped Manta into his arms, being careful of the wound. "Manta, we'll... Huh?" He turned quickly, then his eyes widened seeing red eyes glaring at him through the fog. "N-nani?"  
  
"The hell?!" Horo yelped as a shotgun fired, the bullet whizzing by his arm. "Who's shooting at me?!" He cringed hearing growls from somewhere in the thickening fog, then he turned and began to run. "Koloro, see if you can find which way we're going!"  
"Koro!" she replied and shot upwards.  
"What on Earth is going on?!" he asked himself as he ran, then yelped when he ran into something. He groaned as he looked up, then his eyes widened at the sight of a large, pig-like creature.  
  
Yoh yelled as an explosion sent him flying forwards, then he tucked while he was in the air and hit the ground, rolling and trying to protect Manta from getting hurt any more. He looked up with a groan, then yelped hearing strange growls surrounding him. "Wh-Who are you?!" he cried while holding Manta protectively.  
  
Horo jumped up and began to run, then yelped when the pig-creature grabbed him and held him in place. "Hey, let me go!" he yelled. He looked up hearing a snort, then he began to shake as an even larger one of the creatures walked out of the fog and towards him. It was about six feet high, and built about twice Amidamaru's size. "N-Nani?"  
The large one looked to the other, then said something incoherently.  
  
"Soychra keveam!"  
Yoh blinked as numerous blue blasts hit the silhouetted figures in the mist, then a moment later Shizuka landed and broke integration with Mayumi.  
"Yoh-sama, are you alright?" she asked, then her eyes widened when she saw Manta. "WHAT HAPPENED?!?!"  
"I don't know," Yoh said shakily, then he climbed to his feet and began to run. "Come on! I think we're..."  
"YEAGH!!!" Ryu's voice cried.  
"Huh? Ryu-chan!" Shizuka cried, then she shot towards where they heard him.  
A moment later they found Ryu struggling to keep a black, spider- slash-hand like creature from attacking his face.  
"Ryu!" Lyserg cried as he ran out and joined Shizuka in trying to help Ryu, then his eyes dilated when he noticed Ryu's face was discoloured. He looked down and found the creature's tail was wrapped around his throat, attempting to choke the large shaman. "Ew! Die evil creature!" he yelled while punching at the base of the tail.  
"Ryu-chan, just hang on!" Shizuka whined while trying to unwrap the tail, then blinked hearing Yoh.  
"Look out!" he called as he grabbed Ryu's bokuto and used it to smack the tail, then blinked when it's tail didn't slice.  
"Try again!" Lyserg cried while trying to keep the creature from Ryu's face.  
"Right!" Yoh replied then brought the bokuto down again. He smiled feeling it go into the tail, then jumped when he heard Shizuka cry out a minute later. "Shizzy?!"  
Ryu gasped as it released his throat and jumped away from Lyserg, then scurried into the fog. A moment later he looked and saw Shizuka holding her arm, where a severe burn was threatening to create a hole. "Shizuka!"  
"Get inside!" Yoh cried as he retrieved Manta from where he had placed him, then the four rushed into the hotel. 


	4. Raid

Chapter 3  
  
Faust frowned as he finished carefully bandaging Manta.  
"Faust? Will he be alright?" Yoh asked nervously.  
"I don't know," he replied. "I've never encountered this kind of burn before."  
Yoh looked down silently. Faust had been tending to Manta for an hour and a half now, and still the blonde was unconscious. On top of that, everybody was still clueless of what was going on.  
"What exactly happened?" Faust asked quietly as he lifted his gaze from Manta to Yoh.  
"I don't know. Manta I and were coming home with the groceries, and something hit him suddenly. I couldn't see anything, so I grabbed Manta and ran. But when we got here something was attacking Ryu."  
Faust frowned. "Hmm..." He closed his eyes quietly.  
  
Meanwhile, Ryu lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling while Lyserg waited on him hand and foot. "Lyserg, you don't have to do this for me."  
He grinned. "I know. But I like looking after you."  
"But I'm fine," Ryu chuckled.  
"Yeah," Shizuka snapped. "I'm the one with acid burn, you know."  
Lyserg shot her an irritated glance. "Who told you to stop by?"  
"Hey! I was the one helping Ryu-kun!" she yelled.  
"Yeah, just so you could score brownie points with him!" Lyserg said angrily.  
Ren growled softly as the two argued, then to shut Shizuka up he tied the bandage a little tighter than necessary.  
"Ow! Onii-chan, that hurt!" she whined.  
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just shut up."  
She looked at him quietly for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears and she began to cry. "Reeeeen!!!!"  
"So why did you come by?" Ryu asked, being the only one who realized Shizuka had come by without notice.  
She blinked, then frowned. "I had a vision," she explained. "It was fuzzy, but it was something along the lines of 'beware the old stranger'. I took a shortcut figuring Horokeu took it, but I didn't see him."  
Ren crossed his hands over his chest and stared at the floor while muttering, "Ainu-baka. He'll show up soon enough."  
"But what if those creatures get him?" Shizuka asked, then all four yelped when the door slammed open. Shizuka looked up quickly, then smiled in relief seeing Horo. "Itoko, they didn't get you!" she cried as she ran over and hugged her rather pissed off cousin.  
"I'd say they did get him," Lyserg muttered to Ren, noticing Horo looked tired like he had been fighting.  
"Horokeu, what happened to you?"  
"Well," Horo huffed, "when the fog started rolling in, I decided to take the usual way home. But when on route, I find myself in an ambush situation." He slowly hugged Shizuka. "Must have been half a dozen of these damned pig whatsis. I finally get away, only to be grabbed by one of those damned pigs, and then the freaking pork dinner of an army walks up and tries to stick me with a needle!"  
Ryu frowned. "Giant pigs attacked you?"  
"Not exactly pigs. Looked kind like it had a human build but the characteristics of a wild pig or something," he replied.  
"Well," Shizuka began with a smile, "at least you're safe again."  
  
"Now."  
  
Horo smiled slightly. "Maybe... but when th-UHN!" His eyes widened, then he collapsed against Shizuka.  
"Huh? Itoko?!" she yelped seeing a dart in the back of Horo's neck.  
"Hey!" Ren yelled as the windows were smashed and a bunch of men in soldier uniforms began to invade the house. "What's going on?!"  
Ryu jumped to his feet while drawing his bokuto, then looked up hearing Lyserg yelp. He looked back and saw the British shaman was being cuffed, then rushed over and hit the guy who had him.  
"Detain the shaman," one man ordered, then three of them shot towards Horo and Shizuka.  
Shizuka's eyes narrowed as she drew her katana. "How dare you," she growled, then ducked at just the right moment that they tripped over her and stumbled out the door, then she pulled Horo in and slammed the door shut. She turned around quickly, then yelped when she came face-to-barrel with a pistol.  
"You're not going any where, little boy," the owner of the gun sneered. She looked like she was in her early twenties and she wore blue jeans, a black shirt and a heavy red vest, and it was easy to see the body armor she wore under her clothes. Her hair was pulled back in a tight, blonde ponytail and she had dark brown eyes.  
"You're damn lucky you have that thing," Shizuka snarled, immediately disliking the girl.  
"What's happening?!" Yoh yelled as he ran down stairs, then yelped when somebody grabbed his arms from behind. "Hey, let me go!"  
"Asakura Yoh, right?" the girl asked as she grabbed Shizuka by the hair and held the pistol against the miko's head. "We're going to be taking over things here."  
"What?!" Yoh yelled. "Who do you think you are?!"  
She smirked. "Just call me T.J. Now you're going to do what I say, and then nobody will get hurt."  
"Hey, why didn't you give Horo that choice?!" Shizuka yelled angrily.  
  
"Hmph. Listen, little boy..."  
"I'm not a boy!" she shrieked.  
"Whatever. That brat is a danger to you and your friends. Now shut up or I'll shut you up myself!"  
"How dare you come in here like this," Anna's voice growled.  
"Anna-san! Save us!" the shamans cried in unison.  
Anna was about to move, when she heard a click at the back of her head. She growled softly and walked out with a gun pointed to her head. The gun holder was a tall, built man with blonde hair. He wore a pair of black sunglasses and a black shirt with blue jeans. The shamans gaped in amazement at the amount of artillery he carried.  
"Shit," Ren growled as he was backed to a corner by several of the men.  
"Now listen up," the man who held Anna at gunpoint said. "My name is Stone. There is a situation at hand, and you're going to cooperate." He looked towards Yoh. "Call Faust."  
Yoh glared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Faust!" he called.  
A moment later the German shaman appeared at the top of the stairs. "Yoh-kun?! What's going on?!" he asked as he ran down, Manta cradled in his arms.  
T.J.'s eyes widened. "Isn't that Oyamada's kid?!"  
Stone nodded. "Yes. No matter. Are there any others in here?"  
"All clear upstairs, Sir," some men confirmed as they came down.  
"Good. Now this is how it's going to work," T.J. said as she threw Shizuka over towards Ren. "Once we've made sure the shaman is unconscious, you two are going to help get him into solitary confinement. Elvis, you're going to go out and start preparing dinner. Ann of Green Gables, you can help get the stuff moved out of here. Faust, you're going to be helping the bio techs' set up an appropriate lab."  
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Ren demanded angrily.  
"I didn't say you could speak," she snapped. "Asakura, you and your girlfriend are going to help get this room set up."  
Yoh's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"  
"Calm down," Stone said as he walked over and took Manta from Faust. "We are not here to harm any of you. Only to protect you."  
"How does throwing my cousin into solitary confinement protect him?!" Shizuka demanded.  
"Your cousin is no longer your cousin," Stone replied. "Trust me, it's for your own good," he said quietly.  
"Horokeu is fine," she yelled angrily, then rushed over to Horo. "Itoko, wake up."  
"Sir, we have confirmed fighter headed this way," one man reported.  
"Is that so?" he asked as he placed Manta back in Faust's arms, then walked over to the window and looked up. After a moment he gestured for one of the men to give him one of the larger guns, then aimed it. A minute later he fired. There was a loud sound resembling an explosion from the gun, then a minute later a definite explosion was heard.  
"Get the shields up," Stone said boredly as he walked over to Yoh and looked down at him while gesturing for the soldier to release him. "I strongly recommend you do as we tell you. Just follow orders, and this will all be over in no time."  
Yoh glared at him silently. "Who do you think you are?"  
"I'm the one who's gonna help you get rid of those alien maggots," he said icily, then he looked up to T.J. "I'm gonna get the layout of this place. You get things in order here."  
"Sure thing, Sir," she said with a grin, then she looked at Lyserg. "Anne of Green Gables, you and your boyfriend go get dinner made."  
"N-nani?!" Lyserg said angrily at the nickname.  
"Spikey, you and 'The Boy' get Pig-boy restrained."  
Ren quirked an eyebrow. "Are you supposed to be intimidating? Just get the hell out. I'm not about to tie up my boyfriend, even if he IS good for kinky games."  
"And you say I can't focus," Shizuka said while a sweat droplet appeared over her head.  
Yoh sighed while looking down. "Just do it, you guys. At least they aren't killing him."  
"That's more like it," Stone said with a calmer tone. "Asakura, come with me. We should talk."  
"Yoh-sama, NUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!" Shizuka cried, then yelped when Ren threatened to slice her face with the kwan-dao. "Bully!"  
"She can do it herself," Ren said with a bored tone. "I'm not about to break a sweat because of him."  
"What? Yoh! Don't mak..."  
"Shizuka, just do it. If they try to harm him," he smiled. "Meeya manmu muyi," he said in their secret language.  
"Manmu muyi? Memema muyo?"  
"It'll be worth it," Yoh said with a grin, then sighed while following Stone up the stairs.  
Anna watch with narrowed eyes, then gave Shizuka a dangerous glance when the younger girl considered going into a whiney fit.  
Faust watched nervously as the soldiers began to set up equipment, then he held Manta protectively when one of the men approached him.  
"You are Helmut Faust, right?" he asked.  
"Hai..."  
"Would you please show us the medical office so we may assess current situation?"  
Faust blinked. "At least some of you have manners..." After a moment, he nodded and led the soldier to the basement where the examining room had been set up.  
  
§  
  
Like I said, it's weird. :-S So what do you think? Yes? No? Maybe so? Reviews! I must know! Oh yes... and expect alot of weirdness from Hao. 


	5. An Explanation

**Chapter 4 - An Explanation**  
  
"Now please explain to us what exactly is going on," Yoh said to Stone and T.J. that night at the table.  
Stone took a long drink from his glass of god-knows-what-concoction, then looked at the shamans. "First I would like to know what Oyamada's kid is doing here."  
"Manta always hangs out here," Yoh said while blinking.  
"And if you go near Manta-sama, I'll..." Shizuka began, but came to an abrupt stop when Ren placed a hand over her mouth.  
"Forgive my future in-law. She is not very high in the intelligence department," Ren said cooly.  
"What?! Maybe I aughta throw you out to the Zenkarya!" she yelled, then groaned. "Oh God. I'm starting to sound like Raijin now." She pointed at Ren while jumping up. "Maybe I aughta throw you out with those hog things Horokeu was talking about!"  
"Yes," Stone said while letting his gaze travel up and down Ren's body. "He would be good bait, wouldn't he? And if he fails at that, at least we'll give them the irritation of indigestion."  
"NANI?!" the shamans yelped in unison.  
T.J. crossed her arms over her chest with an irritated expression. "Short and sweet, Earth is being invaded. Strong male humans and shamans, like Pig-Boy, get recruited and mutated into level one xeno-boars. Once that happens the most intelligent undergo training on the mother to move onto the next levels. However, some males are not strong enough, so they become food for alien scum bags."  
Lyserg held a hand to his throat with a disturbed expression. "Yucky..."  
Stone looked up slightly towards the window, then looked away. "Tell your friend to put away that pathetic piece of paper," he said to Yoh, then took a drink. "And tell the idiot in the mask to get in before he turns into a boar." He blinked when a shoe came in through the window and hit him in the head, then he looked towards the window with annoyance and growled at Miki.  
"Daddy!" Yoh cried happily, then blinked when Stone grabbed his arm. "Nani?"  
"Release my son this instant!" Mikihisa said angrily.  
"MY BABY!" Keiko cried while suddenly shooting through the window and huggling the brunette.  
"Mommy!" Yoh said with a silly grin.  
Stone continued to look at Mikihisa suspiciously, then his gaze shifted to Keiko, or more accurately, Keiko's butt.  
Now Faust was joining Mikihisa in silent fuming, both offended by Stone's sudden interest in the brunette mother, who was now sitting with a smile, cuddling Yoh happily.  
"Introductions," Stone said cooly.  
"Oh! Mom, Dad, this man is apparently from America to fight aliens. Mr. Stone, this my mom and dad," he said with a smile as Mikihisa joined Keiko in cuddling their son.  
"Guys, why am I tied up in a closet?" Horo's voice called from the hall.  
"Horokeu!" Shizuka said happily, then shot out of the room, then skidded to a stop as T.J. intercepted her and held the gun ready to blast Shizuka.  
"Pig-Boy stays where he is," she growled.  
"Quit calling Itoko that!" she said angrily, then slammed her knee up into T.J.'s stomach and pushed past her.  
Stone and the other peered out and looked at T.J. for a moment, then Stone shook his head. "Fifty laps. Take the rifle. That should keep you safe long enough to get back inside."  
"Yes... Sir," she replied with a slight groan, then got to her feet and walked back towards the entrance of the hotel.  
Ren pushed past Stone and walked to the closet where Shizuka was trying to get the duct tape of Horo Horo. "Move aside," he said as he raised the blade of his kwan-dao.  
"Hey, there's no way in Hell you're using that near me!" the Ainu cried. "Shizuka, don't let him!"  
"Sorry, Horo," Shizuka giggled nervously. "I remember what happened when I said no to Ren the last time."  
Ren smirked as the miko backed away, then made one quick, accurate slash through the tape.  
"Not so close to the head next time!" Horo yelped, then once he was on his feet his headband fell off, letting the blue locks fall lazily.  
"Now that's cute," Ren sneered, watching as the frustrated Ainu started turning red.  
"Whatever. I'm hungry," he snapped while walking past, then he came to a stop and looked at Stone with confusion. "Who's this guy?"  
"I would be the one who darted you," he replied. "Don't take it the wrong way. We had to make sure you weren't gonna turn on us."  
Horo blinked, then frowned. "Dummy," he snapped, then he walked by Stone and stared at the table and the remaining food. A stupid grin crossed his face, then he looked back with a nervous smile. "Ry-Ry, did you make this?" Horo asked.  
"Yes," Ryu replied, one eyebrow quirked.  
Horo grinned, then tackled the older shaman. "Yeas! Sankyuu, Ry-Ry!"  
"He really is related to Shizuka, isn't he?" Lyserg asked with a jealous pout as Ryu struggled to get the Ainu to let go of him.  
"Let me go!"  
"But you made the yummy food!" Horo cried happily, making his fondness for Ryu's cooking well known.  
"So go and eat it!" Ryu said irritably, then slammed one hand down on the Ainu's head.  
"Owy! Fine!" he said with a pout then stood up. He began turning around, then froze for several long moments, then looked back angrily at Ryu. "Hey, that really hurt, Ryu."  
"Good," the brunette snapped. "Maybe it knocked some sense into your think skull!"  
Horo's eyes narrowed while swinging his foot.  
A short gasp from everybody followed the sound of Ryu crying out in pain after Horo's foot connected with his nether region.  
Ren's eyebrow twitched. "And here I was, thinking I'd be the only one who'd get Man-Land pain from him."  
Shizuka shivered. "Ren, I don't want to know about your sex life with my cousin!"  
"Horo Horo," Yoh said shakily.  
"Ryu!" Lyserg cried as he knelt down to the older shaman, who was trying desperately to ignore his pain and humiliation.  
"I'll live," he groaned.  
"Horokeu, how could you be so nasty to Ryu-chan?!" Shizuka demanded.  
"Hey, I don't exactly like getting whacked over the head like that," he snapped, then he walked to the kitchen.  
"Horo, there's food in here," Ren called.  
"I don't want that stuff any more," he snapped.  
Stone looked to Ren. "He always that snappy?"  
Ren scratched the back of his head. "He did get attacked by some pig things, or so he says. He's usually pretty moody after being ambushed. I've just never seen him get this bad."  
Stone frowned quietly, then looked to Faust. "Go and see Trenton about getting the lab finished off. I'm gonna check on the little one," he said, then he looked to Yoh. "You and Spike keep an eye on Pig-Boy," he said, then he turned and walked towards the stairs.  
"Hey, quit calling him that," Ren said angrily.  
  
Meanwhile, Horo sat down at the kitchen table and held his head. "Damn that was stupid," he grumbled. For a while he sat there, his head swimming, then he laid his head on the table and stared towards the window. "Wonder if it's an allergy," he mumbled to himself, then he blinked, noticing movement outside. Slowly he got up and walked over and peered out the window.  
For a while he stood there, staring outside, then sort of wrapped his arms around himself in a nervous action. Slowly he back up, then yelped when he turned and found Stone standing there. "Wh-What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?!"  
"Do you usually frighten so easily?"  
"It's kinda hard not to be jumpy when you're home is suddenly invaded by lunatics and then you realize something outside's watching you!" he snapped.  
"Hmm...." He placed a hand on either side of the Ainu's face and let his thumbs rub along Horo's cheek bones, then after a minute began to press them down hard against the bones.  
"Ow! What are you doing?" Horo demanded. "Dude, that hurts! Let me go!"  
Stone stared hard at Horo, then pulled let his hands move down and grasp one of Horo's arms and squeezed it until Horo let out another cry.  
"What the Hell are you doing?!" Horo demanded more angrily.  
Stone raised his sunglasses for a moment and looked silently at the blunette. "Proving if you were or weren't going to transform. You're too weak to have received a dose of the serum, though."  
Horo stared with a twitchy eyebrow as Stone walked out, then he growled. "I'm not weak!"  
"Keep thinking that, and maybe you'll start to believe it," he replied monotonously.  
Horo glared at the man, then once he was alone he looked back towards the window nervously, then his focus shifted back to the dizziness in his head. With a groan he left the kitchen and found his way to his bedroom, where he curled up in a tight ball in his futon and slowly drifted to sleep.  
After a while Ren came in and eyed his boyfriend for a moment, then walked over and shook his shoulder for a moment, then sighed with a slight smile. "Ainu-baka. How do I make you feel good if you wear your clothes?" he murmured, then leaned down and kissed the more masculine face lovingly. "Night, Horo-baka," he murmured while pulling the blanket over Horo, then he stood up and left to check on the others.   
  
-§-   
And now I must sigh.... Because of the changes that ff.net made, some of the HTML tags are now unusable, so I must go back to Word Document format. . Anyhoo, the story's going kinda slow, I realize, which is why the next chapter picks up the pace a little, and the torture begins (as well as certain cases of pyromania that threaten to reawaken XD). Reviews appreciated, peps. 


	6. Kidnaped

Chapter 5 - Kidnaped  
  
Mikihisa sat on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest, and his gaze falling back and forth between the clock and front door. Finally he settled his gaze on Yoh, who sat across the room with a worried expression. "You have no idea where they are?" he asked.  
Yoh shook his head, his eyes filling with tears. "Hao and Tamao said they were going out for a little while yesterday morning, and they never came back."  
Mikihisa muttered an incomprehensible curse, then he looked to his younger son again. "Well, Hao's strong. I'm sure he can look after himself and Tamao."  
Tears began to roll down the young face now. "But still... What if he can't? What if one of those small things gets one of them? Or what if the get shot with whatever hit Manta? Manta still isn't even awake!"  
Mikihisa fidgeted for a moment, then looked back towards the door.  
  
Downstairs, Faust stared in disbelief at the new set up of the examining room. "This looks more like it's for operating," he said as he looked to the tall green haired man known as Trenton.  
"Yeah, well, you never know what'll happen," he replied, then slowly he looked to the doctor. "Look, about that little guy... If you want, I can take a look at him. It sounds like he got hit with a standard plasma canon."  
"A what now?" Faust asked with confusion.  
"Some of the ground soldiers," he explained as he sat down and began typing something into the laptop that rest on one of the tables, "carry small plasma weapons. Normally it would kill a human his side, but considering he's a shaman, he got lucky."  
"Actually, he is a human," Faust corrected worriedly. "He just has sixth sense."  
Trenton looked back at the doctor for a moment, then nodded while an image of a almost feline-like creature with an indescribable skin tone appeared. "These guys are usually the ones that carry them. I don't understand how he survived though. Unless he trains like a shaman."  
Faust forwned slightly, memories coming to mind. "Would being necromanced on affect a person's strength against it?"  
"Can't tell you. I don't usually work with shamans," he replied. "By the way. Tell the young lady to stop giving me those death glares."  
"Huh? How'd he know?" Eliza asked with an innocent expression.  
Faust blinked. "I thought you didn't work with shamans."  
"Standard procedure includes a visual and auditory enhancement in case we run into shamans," he replied while looking up. "Anyway, like I said, I can take a look at him if you want."  
Faust frowned slightly, then sighed. "Maybe..."  
  
Stone sat quietly on the stairs, reading a newspaper, then looked up slightly hearing footsteps. A slight smirk formed when he saw it was Keiko, then he shifted his gaze down to the paper.  
"Morning," Keiko yawned while walking past, then her eyes widened in surprise when he felt him grab her butt. "HENTAI!" she shrieked, then jumped the last four steps, landing in Mikihisa's arms as he ran in to see what was going on.  
"What's wrong?!" he asked quickly.  
"Miki, he grabbed me!" she cried, then burried her face into his shoulder.  
Miki blinked, then smiled when he realized Keiko had been dreaming of oranges, then he looked angrily at Stone. "Keep your hands off my wife."  
He looked up. "I could have found entertainment in somebody else," he said, his voice lacking emotion, then he looked down to the newspaper.  
Mikihisa was about to open his mouth, when a sudden presence was felt. The brunette shuddered in instinctive fear and turned to face the door. A minute later it burst open, revealing Asakura Hao, who bared an aura similar to what Faust had wore after Manta had accidentally offended him on their first meeting.  
The young Asakura was a mess. Splatters of scarlet blood and blue covered his tan poncho, along with singed material. Blood ran down the side of his face and he posture of his leg told his parents he had injured it as well. And his eyes, which had gained a sane, chocolate colour two years earlier, were now silver and homicidal.  
"Hao? Sweety baby son of mine?" Mikihisa asked nervously, remembering their first encounter when his older son was born.  
"What the hell is going on?" he snarled, leaning slightly against the doorframe.  
"Aka-chan!" Keiko cried while jumping out of Miki's arms and rushing to her son, then she began to cuddle him. "What happened to you?!"  
"Mom! Don't call me 'baby'!" he cried embarrassedly, then returned to his homicidal state. "What the hell took my Tamao-chan away?!"  
Stone looked up again and studied the boy. "Tamao-chan?"  
"Yeah. My girlfriend," he growled, already deciding he hated the American.  
"Aka-chan, what happened?" Keiko asked again while stroking the now matted hair.  
"Tamao and I were coming home last night, and something attacked us," he replied gravely while looking at the floor. "I didn't even sense them. They... They took Tamao-chan!" he said angrily.  
"Hmm. Well then, I suggest you pray for her soul," Stone said with little interest while looking back to his newspaper. "There's nothing else you can do for her."  
Hao looked up dangerously. "Who are you, and what makes you think that I, Asakura Hao, can do nothing for her but pray?!"  
"The alien maggots probably already have her cocooned, awaiting impregnation," he replied cooly. "Once that happens, she's as good as dead."  
"How dare you say that?!" Hao demanded, the air in the area suddenly beginning to heat.  
"Um... My beloved wife, I think I am going to take shelter in the hot spring," Mikihisa said nervously, not wanting to face his son's wrath at the moment, then he shot out of the room.  
Keiko watched as Hao shot a blast of fire at Stone, then blinked cringed when he lowered his glasses and glared at the boy, his newspaper disintegrated.  
"I was reading that."  
"Too bad for you! Get out!" he growled.  
Stone stood and walked towards the boy and glared down at him, then gave him an unnerving smirk. "You have a lotta guts for a washed up shaman. I'll give you that much, Asakura."  
Hao blinked, then growled. "Washed up? I'll sh..."  
"Urusai," a soft murmur said, then the group looked up and saw Manta half way down the stairs, looking sleepily at them.  
"Manta, I didn't know you were here," Keiko said with a bit of curiosity.  
The blonde blushed a little. "Hi, Keiko-san," he said with a smile, then he looked at Hao and Stone. "What happened? And who are you?"  
Stone turned and studied Manta for a moment, then looked towards the living room. "Asakura, your boy-toy's awake," he called, to which he received no answer.  
Keiko leaned over. "Um... Yoh doesn't refer to Manta by that. Hao refers to Lyserg and Ren by that."  
Stone rolled his eyes, then walked over to Manta and studied him. "How you feeling, Kid?"  
"Kinda sleepy," he replied, holding onto his teddy bear. "Who are you?"  
"The name's Stone," he replied while kneeling down and taking off his glasses, then he studied Manta's eyes for a minute. "Hmm... Manta, I want you to go see Faust and Trenton in the basement. Tell Trenton I said to do a level 1 check."  
The boy blinked, then his stomach growled. "Um... Can I get something to eat, first?"  
"Very well then," he said as he stood up and looked towards the kitchen. "Elvis, we gotta little man here in need of food," he yelled, then he looked to Manta. "Once you finish, make sure you see Trenton. Don't be worried about being shy. Faust will be down there with you."  
Slowly Manta nodded, feeling very confused, then climbed down the stairs and went to the kitchen. "Ryu-san, what's going on?" he asked.  
"Hmm? Little Brother, you're awake!" he said happily. "What would you like?"  
"Um... Pancakes and berries?" he replied unsurely. "Ryu-san, what's going on? How did I end up in the hotel?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, the last thing I remember was walking home with Yoh. I don't even remember getting back here."  
Ryu sighed. "You were attacked by an alien, as strange as it sounds. Apparently we're being invaded."  
Manta looked at him sleepily. "That would certainly explain the weird dream."  
Ryu laughed. "At least you were asleep for the raid. Always interesting, being attacked by some alien thing, then having your home raided by foreign military an hour or so later."  
"If we're being invaded, why aren't we being attacked?" Manta asked confusedly.  
"They're being subtle, I guess. The TVs and radios are out though," he replied as he mixed the batter for Manta's breakfast.  
"Manta!" Yoh cried out of nowhere, then tackle-hugged the small blonde. "Manta, you're awake! How do you feel? Do you hurt? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Are you..."  
"Choking... not breathing," Manta groaned.  
"Oops..." Yoh said sheepishly, then looked at him worriedly. "Manta, are you okay?"  
"I... think so," he replied. "But I had a really weird dream, Yoh- kun," he said while looking down thoughtfully. "There were alotta really weird voices."  
"Oh?" Yoh looked at him curiously.  
  
Meanwhile, Ren was sitting in his room, reading a book, then looked at Horo with annoyance. The blunette had once again kicked his blanket off and now breathed heavily. "Horokeu, it's time to get up," Ren said while rolling his eyes, then he walked over and nudged the blunette's shoulder with his foot. After a minute he frowned and knelt down.  
Carefully the Tao studied his boyfriend, who was drenched with sweat and continued to breathe heavily. "Horokeu?" He placed a hand on Horo's forehead, then blinked when he found a fever. "Horo?"  
"What?!" he snapped exhaustedly while sitting up and rubbing his  
eyes.  
"Huh? How long have you been awake?"  
"I dunno. I just heard you keep pestering me," he grumbled while peeling his jacket, and then his shirt off and collapsed onto the futon again.  
"Horokeu..." Ren said quietly, his face turning red. He stared at Horo's upper body, which seemed buffer than usual. "Horo, have you been working out?" he said slowly.  
"What's it matter?" he grumbled, one arm resting over his eyes.  
"Well... You don't look so fragile," he said quietly, then he placed a hand on Horo's chest to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His face turned redder, then he leaned down and kissed Horo's lips roughly. "It's a bit of a turn on, seeing you in shape for once," he murmured while attempting to straddle the Ainu's stomach, then blinked when Horo sat up, pushing him away.  
"Dammit, Ren! I obviously don't feel well and all you can think about is sticking me again!?" he yelled, then got to his feet dizzily and stormed out of the room.  
A moment later a terrified scream was heard from the bathroom.  
"Huh? Horo!" Ren yelped while jumping up and running out quickly. When he reached the bathroom, Stone, Yoh and Ryu were already there.  
"Horo Horo, open this door!" Ryu said loudly. "What's happening."  
"Horo Horo, please," Yoh pleaded.  
Ren stared as Stone shoved Ryu away and kicked the door in, then he shot past Stone and looked at Horo who was sitting against the wall, his face hidden in his hands. "Horokeu, what is it?" Ren asked worriedly.  
"What did they put in me?" he mumbled miserably. "What the hell is wrong with me?"  
Stone quirked an eyebrow. "Stand up and show us," he said quietly.  
"N..."  
"If you finish that word, I'll give you another reason to be uke," Ren snapped.  
The Ainu shuddered a little, then looked up slowly, his eyes a dark scarlet and seeming to glow very slightly. "What's going on with me?" he whispered.  
"Horokeu?!" Shizuka cried as she ran in, then she froze up. "Itoko?"  
Stone frowned. "Looks like you got a dose after all." He looked down while retrieving a small pouch from his pocket. "No matter. Things always turn out. Just hang on and everything will be alright."  
Shizuka moved over to Horo and looked at him with confusion, then hugged him. "What's happening to you?"  
"He's becoming a xeno-boar," Stone replied. "Since you all seem so fond of him, I'll keep things quick and easy."  
Yoh blinked and watched Stone carefully.  
"Hey, the last time you accused him of something, you darted him and tied him up!" Ren said angrily as Stone approached the two cousins.  
"H-Hey... Get away," Shizuka said nervously, then she frowned when he didn't listen. "Horokeu..."  
He looked slightly to her, then nodded.  
Suddenly the miko shot forward and slammed against Stone, knocking him backwards and causing him to drop a small gun, while he raced to figure out what had happened, horo made a break for the door, then shot down the stairs.  
"T.J., stop him!" Stone yelled while backhanding Shizuka into Ren, then he ran out.  
Meanwhile Horo had reached the door and pulled it open, then his eyes dilated when he found himself face-to-face with the giant boar creature from before.  
"There you are," it said in a slurred English voice.  
"Hold it!" T.J. said as she came in, holding what appeared to be a smaller version of a machine gun.  
Horo looked back and forth with utter confusion, then cried out when the creature grabbed him by the throat.  
"Don't shoot!" Yoh cried as T.J. readied the weapon, then Ren snarled, knowing she wouldn't listen.  
"Nobody hurts Tao Ren's property," he growled while grabbing a nearby vase, then he whipped it and hit the girl in the back of the head.  
"Let me go!" Horo yelled while trying to get out of the creature's grip, then he bit down on its arm angrily.  
It looked down dangerously at him, then pulled out a small canister, pulled the pin from the lid, then tossed it in.  
"Horo!" Ren yelled while shooting down the stairs, then he and T.J. began choking as a blue smoke filled the room.  
"What's happening?" Manta cried as he and Faust ran up from the basement, then they too began to choke.  
After about five minutes the smoke cleared, leaving the four disoriented while Stone, Ryu, Yoh and Shizuka ran down to them.  
"Papa?" Shizuka cried.  
"Manta-chan!" Yoh cried while following shizuka to Faust and Manta.  
"We're okay," Manta replied, then went into a sneezing fit.  
"Ren?" Ryu asked while helping the Tao to regain control of his senses. "Ren, are you alright?"  
He looked up angrily at T.J. "You ever try to hurt him or one of my friends again, I will do worse than send you to Hell," he snarled at T.J., then he stormed out of the hotel.  
"Ren, wait!" Ryu cried while running out after the Tao.  
T.J. glared angrily towards the door, then looked up feeling a hand on her shoulder.  
"Forget it," Stone said quietly. "Just make sure things are ready for dinner."  
She looked back angrily. "Is he really so important?" she said quietly. "Why not just poison him or something and let them worry about him while we take care of things?"  
Stone's eyes narrowed. "Because we need him," he said quietly. "Now just shut up about it and go make sure we have everything we'll need."  
"Yes, Sir," she replied quietly, then looked down angrily.  
  
-§-§-§-§-§-§-§-§-§-§-  
  
Next time, Funbari Onsen is beginning to undergo more attacks, while inside alliances are becoming more delicate. Then a mysterious attack raises more questions regarding the shamans' present situation, as well as tests the strength of one of Yoh's closest friends. 


	7. Fugitive and Mole

**_Chapter 6 - Fugitive and Mole  
_**  
"Horo Horo, if you don't get out here, I'll do worse than send you to Hell!" Ren yelled irritably while walking through the park.  
"Horo Horo!" Ryu called while walking. "Horo Horo, come on. Let us help you!"  
"I think... I am beyond help..." Horo's voice whispered miserably.  
"Huh?" Ren and Ryu looked up quickly, then walked past a tall hedge and found the Ainu sitting with his elbows resting on his lap, his hands covering his face.  
"Horo, come on. I don't exactly trust those guys, but I think they might be able to help you," Ren said as he walked over. "That guy who's been hanging out with Faust. He seems to be the only trustworthy one of those foreign bastards."  
"Go away," he growled.  
"Horo Horo, how did you get away from that thing?" Ryu asked curiously.  
He groaned. "It let me go once we reached the park."  
Ren sighed, then studied his boyfriend. A minute later he frowned while placing a hand on Horo's chest. "Horokeu... You're starting to look like Ryu."  
"What does that mean?" Ryu asked.  
"No... Not like Ryu..." Horo whispered, then he stifled a sob. "Dammit... Is this some sort of punishment?! If so, I've learned my lesson, Kami-sama! Let me go back to normal!"  
Ren blinked. "Horokeu... Let me see your face."  
"Ren, just leave me alone!" Horo yelled.  
"Urusai!" Ren replied while half tackling his boyfriend, then he grabbed Horo's wrists and pinned them down, then stared at Horo, who had his eyes squeezed shut. His eyes shook a little when he found Horo's face seemed to be slowly transforming. A stubble covered his face, and his mouth and nose seemed to be pulled out like a snout. "Horokeu?"  
He opened his eyes and looked angrily at Ren. "You happy now?! I'm such a pig, well now you're more than right!" Tears began to fill his eyes as he looked away. "Now... Just go away!"  
"Horo Horo, you can be left alone like this," Ryu said as he knelt down, trying to ignore the pig characteristics. "Horo Horo, come on. Let's go back and we'll get Stone and the others to help you."  
"Stone and his lackey wants to see me dead," he said sadly, then he growled and threw Ren off of him, then jumped up and began running.  
"Horokeu, wait!" Ren cried while getting to his feet, then he and Ryu ran after the Ainu, then froze when they heard a blood curdling scream. "Horokeu!" Ren yelled, then ran even faster, then skidded to a stop, Ryu right behind him, when he came to a clearing and saw Horo hung limply in a new creature's arms, blood running from his throat from a large bite.  
It was certainly different from the smaller creatures they had seen. This one stood at about eight feet in height with a heavy, rounded body that obviously didn't get its weight from muscle. Sharp, jagged teeth lined its mouth and were revealed in a hideously twisted grin, allowing the two shamans to see it was the cause of Horo's injury.  
"What... the hell... is that?" Ren asked slowly while stepping back.  
"Are you humans or shamans?" the creature suddenly asked in a scratchy, deep voice.  
"N-Nani?!" Ren yelped, then he growled while pulling out his kwan dao. "Let go of Horokeu!"  
"This being is your mate?" it asked, then smirked.  
"Um... Something like that," Ren said with a twitchy eyebrow.  
"I will release him in exchange for you," it said to Ren.  
"Nani?! What the hell do you want with me?!"  
"It is necessary to collect willing females. You would be a perfect volunteer."  
Ryu's face turned red, trying not to laugh. "Um... You think Ren is a girl?"  
"Kisamara!" Ren yelled while charging towards the creature.  
"Good," it sneered, then threw Horo carelessly against a boulder and prepared to attack Ren, then a shot rang out and it's eyes widened.  
Ren skidded to a stop as blood spattered over him, then he wiped it off and looked up with confusion.  
"The fugitive is down," a familiar voice said, then Ren and Ryu looked up and yelped when four xeno boars emerged.  
"You!" Ren yelled upon spotting the one that had taken Horo earlier in the day.  
It looked at Ren for a moment, then walked over and lifted Horo up.  
"Get your hands off of him!" Ren yelled.  
It looked at him angrily. "The little one would have died had it not been for you. I will forget I saw you here."  
"You're not taking him!" Ren yelled, about to charge towards the leader, then blinked when Ryu grasped his arm. "Ryu, what are you doing?!"  
"Horo Horo would be better with them, now," he whispered. "They can help him, and besides which, Stone and T.J. could too easily harm him now."  
"You're telling me I have to let those things take MY boyfriend?!"  
He nodded with a guilty expression, then he looked up.  
"What are your names?" the leader boar asked.  
"What's it matter?!" Ren yelled.  
"You helped us to track down and destroy that fugitive. It will serve you well later should you be captured." He closed his eyes. "And besides which... some of us are more human than you wish to believe. He is so young. He deserves some comfort."  
Ryu's stared with a twitchy eyebrow. "Ren... I'm beginning to think these things are the good guys," Ryu whispered.  
"Fine. Mark my name, and mark it well. I am Tao Ren, and if you cause Horokeu any more pain, I will destroy every last one of you," Ren said angrily.  
"And you?" it asked while looking to Ryu.  
"Ryu crossed his arms with a stubborn expression.  
"Umemiya, Ryunosuke."  
Ryu looked up quickly as a fifth xeno boar emerged and looked at Ryu silently. This one was much larger than even the leader, but didn't seem to have as high a rank. "How..."  
"Good," the leader interrupted, then used one hand to pull out a small device, then it hit a button. A second later it and Horo disappeared, then the others imitated the action.  
"Ryu, I am going to kill you the first time you least expect it," Ren growled, then turned and stormed off towards the hotel.  
Ryu blinked. "How did it know my name?" he wondered, then sighed and followed Ren.  
  
"You let them take him?!" Shizuka screeched later that day.  
Lyserg groaned, his ear aching after being next to the shrill voice.  
"There were too many," Ren said quietly. After the encounter with the aliens, he and Ryu had wandered around, trying to figure out and understand what was going on. They ended up deciding it would be safer to not tell the others the entire truth.  
"Tamao..." Hao said sadly.  
Stone frowned. "Very well, then. Why didn't they attack you?"  
"We don't know." Ryu replied. "They said we were just lucky that we helped to stop some fugitive."  
"And how did you do that?"  
"I guess we distracted it long enough for it to let go of Horokeu and allow the others to kill it," Ren replied.  
"Sir, we have three ships approaching," a blonde man said while running in. "They appear to be cargo ships."  
Stone frowned. "They're gonna drop some of that damned maggots. Incinerate the ships."  
"Yes, Sir," he replied.  
Stone looked to T.J. "Make sure everything is in the house for dinner, then check that everything is locked up."  
"Yes, Sir," she replied while standing up, then she turned and walked out of the room.  
"Ryu, from now on you're to be the only one in the kitchen," Stone said irritably. "Now, you mentioned that one of them knew your name?"  
Ryu nodded.  
"Tamao..."  
"You're certain?"  
"It said it loud and clear. Umemiya Ryunosuke," Ryu replied. "And I don't tell anybody my full name unless necessary."  
"Hmm..." He closed his eyes, then looked up. "Oh, and T.J., remember to make sure we still have eggs!"  
"Yes Sir," she called back.  
"That was rather off topic," Ren stated with a quirked eyebrow.  
"Tamao..."  
"Yes, well I'm rather hungry today," he said as he stood up, then he looked to Ryu. "You are to stay in from now on. Now, tonight I believe we shall have egg Fuyang (sorry if it's mispelled) with shiitake mushrooms."  
"Yea! Shiitake!" Shizuka cried happily.  
"Yucky," Lyserg complained at the mention of mushrooms.  
"Ren, maybe we could..." Yoh began.  
"Silence!" Ren snapped. "From now on, I do what I think is necessary. Don't include me in anything. I wanna do something, I'll do it.  
"Tamao..." Hao repeated sadly.  
"Would you shut up," Anna hissed at Hao. "You're going to make..."  
"Tamao!" Shizuka suddenly cried, joining Hao's gloomy little corner.  
"What's with her?" Lyserg asked. "I thought she hated Hao."  
Yoh sighed. "Shizzy and Tamao got along like sisters when we were little. Sharing Hao's gloom doesn't bother her much."  
Stone sighed as the clock struck six in the evening. "Ryu, go and make dinner." He looked up at Keiko with a smirk. "As for you. Noticed you are being left alone quite often. Perhaps it would be safer for you to stay close to me."  
Hao and Yoh looked up quickly and saw fire seemed to be radiating from their father, who was glaring satanically at the blonde man.  
"Daddy..." Hao began.  
"So scarey," Yoh said nervously.  
Keiko quirked an eyebrow. "Look, if you're looking for a hooker, talk to my mom."  
"Hey!" Yoh cried. "Don't be mean to Grammy."  
"I'm serious," she replied, a giant sweat droplet appearing over her head. "She was a lot of things when she was younger..."  
Stone quirked an eyebrow, then shook his head while standing up. "Trenton, make sure everything is in working order downstairs."  
"Yes, Sir," he replied, then quickly headed towards the basement.  
  
Ryu sighed while washing his hands thoroughly. "Horo Horo... I hope you're alright," he murmured while looking out the window, then frowned when the three ships that had been reported seemed to disappear in a flash of blue light. A moment later his ear perked up hearing something. He looked towards the cupboard, then frowned while listening more closely. A moment later he heard a scratching and scraping sound.  
"Great. Now we've got rats?!" Ryu demanded angrily while walking over and opening the cupboard, then blinked when he found nothing. "Must be hearing things," he decided, then he walked over to the stove and turned it on, then walked to the counter and began washing and chopping up some vegetables for a stir fry.  
After a minute he put some olive oil in the pan, then he carefully placed the vegetables in and turned the heat up. He then went towards the fridge to get some eggs, then froze when he heard the scratching and scraping again. He frowned while looking over, then walked towards the cupboard.  
  
"We have to get my Pink-Chip Cookie back!" Hao declared, suddenly breaking out of his gloom.  
"We must get back Tamao!" Shizuka agreed while jumping up.  
Lyserg's eyebrow twitched. "Am I the only one who remembers that us three are enemies?"  
"I guess so," Hao said with a grin, then became serious again.  
Yoh sighed. "The only way to do that is to go aboard and find and save her. And even then, Stone said girls are usually impregnated within twenty-four hours of capture. We would probably be too late."  
"Since when am I the optimistic one?" Hao demanded. "Yoh, since this guy showed you, you've been acting like Ryu after Lyserg dumps him."  
"I'm just stating the facts," he snapped.  
"Now boys. There's no need for sibling feuds," Mikihisa said in an attempt to repay his sons for calming him down.  
"I don't care, I..." Hao was suddenly interrupted by a crash in the kitchen. "What the?"  
"Ryu!" Lyserg cried, then he shot towards the kitchen.  
"Shit," Mikihisa cried, then he and the others followed Lyserg, soon to come to a stop and find the shaman letting out a long, explicit line of curses in British while trying to get the door open.  
"Move!" Hao said while shoving Lyserg, then a fireball appeared in front of his hand and he slammed it into the door, then smirked and kicked the door just next to the handle causing the door to fly open.  
"Ryu!" Yoh cried as he and Lyserg ran over to the shaman, who lay on the floor, unconscious and gasping.  
"Ryu? Ryu?!" Lyserg cried while shaking the shaman's shoulders.  
"What's going on?" Stone asked as he walked in, then his eyes narrowed. "Great." He looked up slightly. "Somebody put that fire out," he said noticing the pan had been knocked over, causing some of the food to land on the burner, then as Shizuka tended to that he walked over and studied Ryu. "Hmm... Get him downstairs."  
"Ryu, answer me!" Lyserg cried, tears beginning to slide down his face, then he looked up as Mikihisa scooped the shaman up and headed towards the basement.  
"What the hell happened in here?" Hao asked while looking around.  
Lyserg shot out of the room towards the basement, but when he reached the door, Stone stepped in the way. "Move! I want to see Ryu!"  
"We don't know what's wrong with him. It'll be safer for you to stay out of there until everything is under control.  
"But Ryu needs me!" he cried.  
After five minutes of arguing, Trenton came out, carrying Ryu. "Where's his bedroom? He needs rest."  
"This way!" Lyserg said quickly while leading Trenton up the stairs.  
Soon the brunette lay in his futon, sleeping rather peacefully.  
"What happened?" Lyserg asked while looking up, holding on tightly to Ryu's hand.  
"Looks like a level one ground trooper tried to kidnap him. He received a strong electrical shock to the chest, which explains his initial trouble breathing. He should be better in a few days, though."  
Faust watched from the door with a disturbed expression, then looked up when Yoh rushed in, followed by Manta.  
"Ryu-san?" Manta asked nervously, then hugged the brunette carefully.  
"Don't worry, Ryu. We'll stay close by," Yoh said with an encouraging tone.  
Faust sighed while closing his eyes, then turned and walked away, onl stopping when Ren stepped in front of him. "Yes?"  
"I want to see the lab," he said cooly.  
Faust closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ren. But right now the lab is in a very delicate situation, and it would be best that only Trenton and I be in there. And with your temper, I don't want to risk the equipment."  
Ren growled, then stepped aside when he realized he wasn't going to win.  
"Please be safe, Ryu," Faust murmured once he was out of Ren's earshot, thinking of the brunette who lay unconscious now.  
Horo Horo lay on a bed, sweat drenching his mutating body and a painful expression plastered on his face. Large scars now rest on his throat where and immediate surgery had been done to save him from bleeding to death.  
He winced in his sleep as a gentle kiss was placed on his forehead and his expanding hand was grasped by a thin one.  
"Hold on, Horo Horo. Just hold on," a voice said gently, then Horo began to rest more easily when he was given a warm hug. 


	8. A New Feeling

**_Chapter 8 – A New Feeling_**

"You guys, I just thought of something," Manta said while looking up from his place on the couch. For the moment, everybody was seated silently in the living room, those of higher status (as Stone put it) trying to think of some sort of plan of attack, while the others had given up trying to convince the older blonde they could do much more. Ren was the first to acknowledge Manta.

"What is it?"

The small boy got a worried expression. "What about Ryu's friends? Some of them don't have a home. We should try to find them before the aliens do."

"Hey, yeah," Hao said while looking up. "We can't let them sit around, waiting to get attacked."

"You aren't going out," Stone said irritably.

"But if..." Manta began.

"Look, I wouldn't give a damn if you were the president's son. I know what I'm doing, and I'm under strict orders to keep you people safe. Especially you, Oyamada, by any means necessary. And if I just happen to feel you're getting to be too spontaneous for the good of the group, I have no problem with locking you in a closet until this whole thing is over."

Yoh looked over. "Don't speak to Manta that way!" he said angrily while Manta moved slightly behind him and grasped his arm.

"He's got to learn to..." Stone stopped when Anna stepped in front of him. "Hmm?"

She looked at him with a death glare. "Do not speak to Yoh and Manta that way," she said in a low voice, then walked over and sat next to Yoh.

"Anna..." Yoh stared at his ex-fiancée with surprise. Since their engagement had been called off, she hadn't been so protective of him and Manta. "Sankyuu."

"Don't think I've gone soft," she said in her usual icy tone.

"Eh heh..." Yoh and Manta laughed nervously.  
  
--

Ryu's eyes fluttered open for the first time in two days, and then he looked around confusedly. "Eh?" He sat up, then groaned when a sharp pain shot through his chest, and then sighed while looking up. "How'd I get in here?" he thought, then slowly stood and looked down with confusion. He was wearing his short-sleeved yukata and became curious of mark on his arm, most likely from a needle. After a moment, he dressed himself, then walked down stairs and looked around.

"Ryu-san, it's good to see you awake," Mikihisa said from out of nowhere.

"Uh... Mikihisa-sama," Ryu said, a little startled. "How did I get upstairs? I thought I was making dinner."

"Aa. You were attacked," the elder replied. "Go downstairs. I'd sooner that Stone guy not know you're awake. Faust can do a check-up."

Ryu nodded slowly and then did as he was told.

Back in the living room, Ren had noticed a certain aura and looked towards the door, then looked to the window once he was certain it was Ryu. As he watched out the window, a thought occurred to him. "You know... Manta's right," he mumbled.

"Eh?" T.J. looked over with a quirked eyebrow. "Just when I thought you were sensible."

"I am," Ren replied cooly, refusing to move his gaze. "Ryu's friends are still out there. If they weren't smart enough to go into hiding, there's no telling what could happen." He closed his eyes. "How many people actually know Ryu's name?"

"Well..." Yoh thought. "You, I guess, and Manta and I..."

"Aside from us, idiot."

"Oh... Well..." Yoh thought.

"Ryu's friends may know," Manta replied.

"What does any of this accomplish?" Stone demanded.

"I get it," Hao said while blinking. "That thing knew Ryu's name."

"But that doesn't mean it's one of his friends," Lyserg replied with a frown.

"Right. It could be a family member," Yoh said with a nod. "So it's somebody close to him."

"Any chance they would have something to do with his attack?" Ren asked, never shifting his gaze.

Stone quirked an eyebrow. "Seems like the best theory so far."

"I don't know..." Keiko sighed. "Something feels very wrong with his attack." She shook her head. "As if it weren't really them who did it. I mean, they wanted to help Horokeu, and they let Ren and Ryu go. Why would they turn around and attack like that?"

"Keiko-san..." Shizuka whispered, then smiled brightly. "Hai! It is strange!"

"Who asked you, Boy?" T.J. asked with a side-long glance.

"Quit it!" Shizuka suddenly shrieked. "Quit calling me that! I am a girl! Are you deaf?! Do I gotta spell it out for you?! I am a girl! G-I-R-L! GIRL! I'll prove it if you want me to! I really will!"

"Shizzy!" Yoh said as he got up, then reverted to their childhood language. "Meeya maaya yame."

After a moment she calmed down, then looked at him with teary eyes. "Mimee jimee!"

Yoh nodded, then hugged her. "Maemye meyami."

She nodded some, then sat down on the couch and crossed her arms while staring at the coffee table.

"Good work," Anna said as she looked to T.J. "You're the first person to get her to cry and shut up at the same time."

Mikihisa, who was now sitting next to Keiko, looked up quickly feeling the room's aura change, then the others felt it as well and looked to Shizuka, whose eyes were hidden behind her bangs while clenched fists shook.

"Uh oh..." Yoh whispered meekly, then dove under the coffee table, dragging Manta with him.

"Urusai!" Shizuka yelled while grabbing the first coffee mug she saw, which happened to be Stone's a filled with fresh coffee, then she whipped it at Anna and T.J., succeeding at drenching the two in the hot beverage, then she stood up. "I've had it with being stuck in this place! I'm going home!" she yelled, then turned and stormed out of the room.

"Huh? Shizuka?" Ryu asked as he came out of the basement, then blinked when she looked back with a frown. "Um... Okay... What exactly has been happening while I've been out?" he asked slowly.

"Stone's a butt-head and T.J. is the American version of Anna!" she said angrily while stomping her foot. "Even Lyserg's more tolerable than them!"

Ryu nodded some, then smiled a bit. "Well... I heard you say you were leaving, but it's kinda dangerous, don't you think?"

"Hmph. Anything out there is better than what's in here," she pouted while crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides which, that guy and his little girlfriend won't get off their asses and go look for Muscle-Punch and the others."

Ryu blinked, then his expression became worried. "Do you think... they're okay?"

She shrugged, then sighed while walking over and hugged him. "How you feeling?"

"Worried now," he sighed while returning the hug, then he smiled some while ruffling her hair. "Instead of going out there and risking an encounter, why don't you just help me out?"

"Hey, it's my turn to listen to you get upset," she said while looking up.

He smiled. "I haven't got much to say, other than the heart burn. Faust said to take it easy, so why don't you help me with some chores?"

After a moment, she sighed. "Alright."

"Okay, so go ahead and get the laundry basket from Ren and Horo Horo's room, and I'll meet you in the laundry room."

"Alright," she sighed, and then began climbing the stairs.

Ryu smiled some, then began walking towards the laundry room, thinking quietly about the younger shamans, and especially of Yoh, Lyserg, Manta and Shizuka. He soon came to a stop and sighed with a smile.

"And how are you doing?"

The brunette was pulled out of his little dream world, then looked back. "Stone-san... I didn't hear you come in."

The blonde nodded slowly. "How are you feeling?"

Ryu thought, and then smiled again when he noticed the pain in his chest had gone away. "Pretty good, actually."

"Do you feel any different after the attack?" Stone asked. "We don't need to risk brainwashed traitors."

The younger frowned, but made no retort. "I feel fine."

"You seem more like Asakura did when we first arrived."

Ryu was quiet, then smiled some. "The kids just make me feel good."

Stone chortled. "They aren't that much younger than you."

"I know," he replied while looking away some. "Even so, it just feels nice to be around them."

"A father before your time," Stone said, his eyes narrowing. "That's not a good thing."

Ryu looked over. "Who said anything about being a father? And why would that be a bad thing?"

Stone was quiet, and then stood and walked towards the door. "Ryu, you are to report to Trenton every two hours. We need to keep an eye out for any problems."

Ryu watched quietly as the man left, and then shook his head while looking towards the window, the smile returning. "I guess near-death experiences make you feel differently," he murmured, then sat down with a wince when his chest tightened.  
  
--

"Stone is with them, Sir."

"What of the specimens?"

"We have one, a second has been confirmed, and the identities of the third and fourth are being searched for."

The scratchier voice growled. "Of the two we've confirmed, has the carrier been found?"

"No, Sir. All we know is that Stone is guarding the specimens on Earth. It appears one of the Clorten made it into the building."

There was a silence, then a set of black eyes looked back dangerously. "The Clorten were destroyed before they could reach Earth. None were ejected from the ships."  
The much smaller boar swallowed while backing away from its commander. "Sir, there must have been something. The scanners confirmed one was down there."

One large hand clenched while a slight tremor of rage ran through it. "Very well, then. Keep a close eye out for any opening, and find those specimens. Stone is already too far ahead of the game. The first chance possible, I want them all eliminated."

"Yes, Sir," the boar replied, while leaving the room. At the opposite door, one of the frailest creatures onboard trembled, tears forming, then a moment later footsteps were heard rushing back towards the recovery quarters.


	9. Dark Conception of Truth

-Quick note. The 'Clorten' are based a little bit on the face-huggers in "Alien" and the slime creatures in "Duke Nukem". Me no own those. Got it? So don't sue, 'cause I haven't got any money anyway. However, the conception process is mine.  
  
**_Chapter 9 – Dark Conception of Truth_**  
  
"Why do you work with him?" Faust asked quietly as he finished cleaning up the examination table. Minutes earlier, Ryu had left from his fifth check-up since his attack.  
  
Trenton shook his head. "Not much choice," he replied quietly. "When I first started working as a doctor, I was too stupid to think this far into the future."

Faust walked over to the sink and washed his hands. "Why not quit? You do such terrible things..."

Trenton was silent for a moment, and then sighed. "Honestly, I have a better chance of seeing my family again this way."

"Oh?"

The brunette nodded. "Normally we aren't supposed to deal with civilians, but as you already know, this is a special case."

"What is so important about these specimens that Stone mentioned?" Faust asked.

Trenton shook his head. "Two of them were modified before birth, so that they may be used for experimental purposes. If we can find a way to use their own hosts against them, we'd have a major advantage."

Faust closed his eyes. "It seems to me, if they have been able to come to Earth for so long, they would be ready for something like that."

"It's better than knowing nothing," he replied. "Who knows. Maybe we'll find something they missed. Maybe find a way to destroy their Clorten minions without wasting time or ammo."  
  
-

"Ryu, you should really take it easy," Lyserg said for only the twentieth time that day.  
  
"Lyserg, everybody has some sort of job here. Cooking and housekeeping is mine." He sighed while turning the heating element down.  
  
-

"Clorten?"

He nodded. "Probably the smallest creature you'll find working with them. They're a sort of jelly-like creature, but they're shaped like a six-fingered hand." He shook his head. "They attack quickly and have no vocal abilities."

Faust sat down with a frown. "Why are they used?"

"Experiments," came the simple reply.  
  
"Experiments?"

-

"Ryu, you're going to hurt yourself," Lyserg said irritably while standing up and walking over to the brunette, who was slowly pouring the boiling water and cooked noodles into a colander that rest in the cleaned sink.

"I'll be fine," the older replied with a slight wince.

-

"The Clorten attach themselves to a specimen and release a fluid, similar to a synthesized sperm, as well as bacteria that causes a sore inside the body that is impregnanted. When it finds its way to blood cells, it mutates a number of the cells until it can break away from the bloodstream as one, and then begins to form into a fetus."

"A fetus?"

"Precisely," Trenton replied. "The specimen then goes throughout the pregnancy until the fetus develops to an aggressive state. After that... Well..." Trenton looked down quietly.

-  
  
Ryu blinked, then dropped the pot as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

"Ryu?!" Lyserg cried. "Ryu, what's wrong?!"

The brunette grasped his chest while gasping, then fell to his knees while shaking. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," the brunette cried after a painful grunt.

"R-Ryu?! What should I do?!"

After a moment, the pain faded away again, then Ryu fell over, gasping and his eyes tired. Once he caught his breath again, he looked up sleepily at Lyserg. "I'm okay, now," he said quietly, and then his eyes fluttered shut. "Just need a bit of rest..."

-

"Hmph. Last night I heard you and Stone-san speaking of specimens," Faust said quietly with a frown.

"Ah, yes. Some alien specimens are being transported here. There's no need to..."

"Don't you jerk me around," Faust warned, his eyes narrowing. "I heard you both clearly. They're here, and they're alive. All four of them."

Trenton swallowed nervously. "Look... This is something you have to take up with Stone. I'm just here to follow orders."

"What are they?" Faust demanded.

Trenton was quiet, then closed his eyes with a sigh. "I already told you, we're trying to find a way to..."

"You put my friend's life on the line," Faust said dangerously while moving towards him. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for that bullshit you've been feeding the others. Either tell me, or I'll get angry."

Trenton rolled his eyes. "Look, idle threats are..."

"I don't make threats," Faust interrupted. "You don't believe me? Go ask the others what I did to Manta when we first met."

"Look, I can't..."

"I'm warning you!" Faust said angrily while pinning the man's shoulders against the wall. "What is really going on here?!"

"Faust, Faust, Faust," Stone said as he walked up. "Don't pick on Trenton when he's been so kind to you." He came to a stop and glared at the shaman. "And especially when it doesn't concern you."

"The thing that attacked Ryu-san was one of _your _specimens! It's completely my concern!"

"Iie. Ryu was not attacked by one of the specimens," Stone replied while closing his eyes. "Specimen AJ0099 wasn't even supposed to begin experimentation, but with the absence of specimen AJ0097, and without proper pediatric physicians on duty, clearance for specimen AJ0098 couldn't be granted. AJ0100, however, has too many defenses, and is of no use to us until we can obtain the proper species." He closed his eyes. "Thus, AJ0099 was the only possible specimen."

Faust clenched his fists as a death glare formed. "What the hell did you do to Ryu-san?"

Stone closed his eyes. "AJ0099 will be fine as long as he maintains a low level of stress and as long as the fetus is removed at the right moment." He glanced up when Faust began walking towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you _think_ I'm going?! I'm not going to stand by and watch Ryu-san suffer!"

Stone grabbed his arm. "Faust, if you tell him, he's as good as dead, because that'll just put his stress level through the roof! All we have to do is lower his activity level, monitor him closely, and it will all be fine."

"You can't do that," Faust growled.

"I can do what I want," Stone replied. "And if I have to, I WILL commence AJ0098's experiments."

"Stone," Trenton said with a frown. "Stone, what if..."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Stone snapped, then looked back to Faust. "Ryu has been listed as a specimen for a long time. Before he was even born. Whether or not you like it, this is going to go through, and then you'll see that it is all fine. Not a single experiment has gone wrong while I was in charge."

-

Meanwhile, Ren walked into the kitchen with a frown, Shizuka and Yoh following him.

"Lyserg, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave for a couple minutes," the Tao said, staying calm.

The greenette frowned. "Why?"

"Because I need to talk to these guys about something that doesn't involve you," he snapped.

After a minute, Lyserg looked to Ryu. "Ryu-chan!"

"Lyserg... I really don't feel like arguing," Ryu said with a sigh, holding his chest painfully.

After a minute of stammering, the British shaman left the kitchen with a pout.

"Now what is it?" Ryu asked with a gentle smile, feeling quite tranquil around the younger shamans.

"Ryu. Yoh. Stone's jerkin' us around," Ren said with a frown.

Yoh blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he's using us," he snapped. "You wouldn't believe some of the shit I found in his room."

"Ren, there's no need for foul language," Ryu scolded.

"I'll say whatever the Hell I want," he snapped.

"Stone's just like every other stupid government person-thing," Shizuka said with a frown, then looked to Yoh. "Meemaa meeyamo."

Yoh's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

Ren's eye twitched. "Shizuka, speak a human language."

Yoh frowned. "You're sure there's three more?"

She nodded. "Maamaa miyomo."

"Shizuka, dammit!" Ren yelled.

She yelped while jumping behind Yoh. "Sowwies... The other three specimens are somehow connected to Funbari Onsen, and it's not alien specimens. They're humans or shamans or whichever."

Ryu frowned. "First of all, you should know better than to go through other peoples' stuff."

"Well who else is gonna do it?" Ren snapped. "You're too pregnant to be anything but a mother now."

Yoh and Ryu were very... silent...

"What did you just say?" Ryu asked.

"PREGNANT! P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T!" Ren yelled. "You've got an alien in you that's gonna frigging eat you inside out!"

"You didn't say that!" Shizuka cried, her eyes filling with tears.

"Ren... I think you've been second-hand smoking Dad's leaves," Yoh said with a twitchy eyebrow.

"Yoh, Ryu, listen to me," Ren said, trying his best to calm down. "I saw the documents. I heard Stone and T.J. talking. Ryu wasn't attacked by those guys outside. That thing was deliberately planted in the kitchen to impregnate Ryu. Somebody was in there somehow and got rid of the little maggot before we could see it. Why the Hell do you think Ryu's acting like a mother? And Ryu, I've seen you often enough in that bathroom the last few days, and I know damn well you're throwing up blood."

Ryu was quiet, his disbelieving expression fading to something between fear and misery.

"Face it, Ryu. I heard you practically have a heart attack just before we came in here," Ren said quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

Yoh was very silent, not knowing what to do or say, then blinked when Ryu rose from his seat. "Ryu?"

"I think... I need to see Faust..." he said slowly, his expression becoming worse. "Yeah," he muttered as he walked out. "Faust will know what to do..."

"Ryu?!" Lyserg asked worriedly as the brunette walked past him. "Ryu, where are you going?"

Shizuka was quiet, then turned and slapped Ren across the face. "Jerk! You didn't have to be so mean to him!" she cried, tears running down her face.

"I think... maybe it was best to tell him the truth straight out," Yoh said slowly. "It explains why he's looked so grey since the attack..."

-

Faust opened the basement door quietly, and then froze when he found Ryu standing there looking at him desperately. "Ryu...san?"

"Faust... I want you to do an examination," he said in a low voice. "Not Trenton. Not Stone. You," he said slowly.

Faust swallowed hard. "Ryu-san, Stone gave strict orders to..."

"Faust, I already know," he said quietly. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Faust stared quietly. Hours earlier Ryu had been acting like a happy mother, cooking and cleaning to his heart's content. Now he looked like a lost boy. Faust felt his heart starting to break. "You know?"

He looked away slightly. "For a while. Was just in denial at first..." He looked up again. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Faust was very quiet. "I can't. Stone was too tricky in setting this operation up, Ryu-san," he said reluctantly. The change in the brunette's eyes made the doctor want to just break down at this point. He was about to give Ryu a hug, but froze when he received a sharp slap. He stared shakily as his young friend turned and began walking towards the front door. "Where are you going?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Ryu replied miserably as he walked out of Funbari Onsen.

"Ryu-san..." Faust stared silently, and then looked down guiltily.  
  
---

Ryu-chan has run away?! He can't! And who's the evil little midget that Yohy and Manta are so scared of? These attacks are so sudden, and so accurate. And what on Earth is with Ren-Onii?!  
  
**Next time: Stretched Heart Strings! Stretched Patience! Strange Love!**  
  
My enemy is my enemy, unless the Dragon-Love suffers!


	10. Stretched Heartstrings, Patience! Strang

**_Chapter 10 - Stretched Heart Strings! Stretched Patience! Strange Love!  
_**

"He WHAT!" Stone, Mikihisa, Yoh and T.J. yelled in unison.

"Ryu-chan!" Shizuka and Lyserg bawled in unison.

"This can **not** be happening," Stone growled as he paced back and forth. "You… You let him walk out? Just like that?"

Faust nodded. "I have no right to keep him here."

Stone looked like he was about to hit somebody. "You, you let him go to the enemy!"

"The way he sees it, they're his friend," Faust replied. "Quite frankly, I don't blame him."

"Why would he do that?" Manta whimpered. "Why would Ryu-san leave us?"

"Hmph. Why don't _you_ explain to Manta why his big brother walked out on us," Ren snapped at Stone.

"I don't recall their blood being the same," Stone snapped back.

"What are you guys talking about?" Manta demanded.

"When Ryu attacked, it was because these guys were doing an experiment on him," Ren explained. "Ryu left because of the alien baby that's inside of him."

"What?" Manta's eyes watered slightly. "Why did you do that!"

Stone clenched one fist irritably. "Ryu's been on our list since four months before he was born. We couldn't commence the other experiments, leaving him the only option we had left!"

"Other experiments?" Manta asked nervously, and then moved closer to Yoh.

"Oh, yes," Ren said suddenly. "I've been meaning to ask you something. What exactly does a pediatrician have to do with any of this?"

Stone looked over with narrowed eyes. "You're on dangerous ice, Girly."

"Hmph. That insult doesn't work," Ren replied. "Why exactly do you need a pediatrician for an experiment of this sort?" His eyes narrowed. "And what's this "Akuma Experiment"?"

Stone glared silently at Ren, and then finally cleared his throat. "The Akuma Experiment is a somewhat large operation that has nothing to do with why I'm here."

"You're a god damned liar," Ren snapped. "The whole point of being here is to start it. Who the hell are the other specimens, Stone!"

"The only other specimen is gone!" he yelled. "He's useless to any of our causes, and your necrophilic friend here let our last chance for good walk out!"

"Hey, back off!" Yoh said angrily. "You're the one who barged in here and started screwing our lives over! We could have taken care of those guys by now!"

"We have to bring the Dragon-Love home!" Shizuka and Lyserg cried in unison, and then the two shot out the front door.

"Huh! Wait!" Ren yelled as he shot after them, then yelped when he tripped over something as he went out the door.

"God damn it!" a voice yelled angrily. "Why can't you shaman scum ever watch what you're doing!"

Yoh and Manta froze at the sound of that voice. That voice that was best remembered for the time they had been found in its owner's own office.

"Hmm?" Stone looked back irritably. "About time."

Ren sat up, cursing under his breath, and then froze when he found what looked like Manta's evil, older twin standing there, brushing himself off. "What the hell are you?" he demanded.

The man looked angrily to the Tao. "Hmph. No wonder. You Taos always were savage."

"Wh-what!" Ren yelled.

"About time you showed yourself, Mansumi," Stone said irritably while walking over to the door.

"Yes, well, I've had to look after your so-called superior's blunders," he snapped.

"D-D-Dad!" Manta cried. "You know these guys!"

"Of course," Mansumi snapped. "I funded their transportation. You Americans need to learn how to conserve your money," he said irritably while looking to Stone. "What the hell is the status?"

"Hmph. 97 has been lost. Then a particular doctor allowed 99 to on out of here," he replied while shooting a dangerous glance at Faust.

Masumi looked towards Faust angrily. "Hmph. Why am I not surprised?" He looked to Stone. "When will 98 be ready?"

"We can't do anything without a proper physician," Trenton replied with a frown. "I don't suppose you thought to send for one?"

Mansumi growled.

"Dad? Y-You know what they did to Ryu-san?" Manta asked shakily.

"Shut up," he snapped. "Bastard children shouldn't interfere with adults' business."

Faust's eyes narrowed, an instant disliking for the man forming.

Yoh frowned. "Leave Manta-chan alone. You're the one who's helping to make one of our friends suffer!"

"I didn't ask for your input," he replied, then under his breath muttered, "dirty Asakura brat."

"What was that?" Yoh demanded.

Suddenly a shrill scream nearly broke everybody's eardrums, and then Mikihisa found his beloved in his arms, Bride-style.

"Keiko!" Miki asked in alarm. "What's wrong, my pretty little sakura blossom!"

Mansumi's eye twitched. "Yes. Hello to you too, Keiko," he said, obviously not happy to see her.

"That's the evil little midget that used to follow me!" Keiko cried, looking somewhat like her sons on a stupid day.

There was a moment of silence, and then an uncomfortable expression crossed Manta and Yoh's face.

"Manta… I think maybe we should… take a break from each other…" Yoh said nervously.

"You too, huh?" Manta asked, looking quite disturbed.

Hao grinned. "Aww! But you aren't related! And besides which, incest is fun!"

"Can it Hao!" Ren and Yoh yelled in unison.

"Weirdoes," Mansumi muttered, and then looked to Manta. "Have you been harmed? Are you comfortable here?"

Manta blinked. "Uh…"

"Don't stand there looking like a donkey," he snapped.

"Uh… I'm fine, Sir," he said while looking down.

"Manta," he said in a tone of warning.

The young blonde swallowed. "I got hurt a while back, but I'm okay, now. And I'd be more comfortable if these guys from America weren't here."

"Very well, then," Mansumi replied, and then looked to Stone. "Now what exactly happened to 97?"

Stone rolled his eyes. "The brat got injected with the serum. Even if we got him back, he's useless now."

"Wait a minute," Ren said. "Serum? As in the shit that turned Horokeu into a monster!"

"97 was that Ainu!" Mansumi demanded. "Christ. He's no good, whether or not he's one of those things now."

The shamans looked to each other silently, quickly deciding they were in trouble, and then slowly crept out of the room as Stone and Mansumi began arguing.

"Great. First those foreign kisamas, and now Mansumi," Ren growled.

"Hehn," Manta sighed. "At least it can't get any worse."

A shriek caught their attention, then Ren growled. "I think it just did."

"Mom!" the twins yelled in unison as they jumped up and ran.

The friends, followed by Stone, Mansumi and T.J., shot out into the back yard and found a monster of a creature, holding Keiko by the back of the neck and in the air.

"It's about time," it said in a low, tubular-sounding voice.

"What in the name of God is that!" Miki demanded.

"Hey! I thought you were killed!" Ren snapped, immediately recognizing the creature.

"Idiot. It's a different one," T.J. muttered while drawing a pistol, then blinked when Stone placed an arm in front of her. "Huh?"

"Get your hands off of Mommy," Yoh growled in a low voice, his eyes half-dilated.

"Where are they, Stone?" the creature demanded.

"Hmph. Since when do they send a Class 3 soldier for this kind of thing?" the blonde replied.

Anna frowned, then looked to Manta. "Get inside, and if you hear even a twitch, get back here and tell me."

"H-Hai, Anna-san," the boy replied, then scrambled into the house.

"Let her go!" Yoh yelled while reaching for Harusame.

"Sweety," Keiko said with a nervous smile, "Anna told me what you were like in your second battle. I don't want to see my other baby acting like a psycho killer."

"Mom, now's not the time," Hao said irritably. "Spirit of Fire, burn him!"

"Amidamaru!" Yoh commanded just as his brother's spirit appeared, and then he shot forward while integrating. Once he was close enough, the young shaman brought Harusame's blade dow.

-

Ryu sighed as he leaned against a tree and stared out over Funbari Hill. As he had hoped it would be, the area was deserted, most of the spirits now sleeping. Slowly he slumped to the ground, holding one hand over his chest where he had been experiencing pain for quite some time. "You'd think those guys would notice a human walking out in broad day light," the shaman sighed, and then after a moment he choked while squeezing his eyes shut. "Dammit!"

"Ryu-san, you should go back," Tokagero said gently while appearing. "The others are worried."

"I'm not going back while those bastards are there!" he shouted. "I'll take my chances out here. I'm not being an experiment any more than I have to be now!"

"Ryu-san, I'll get Eliza to talk to Faust. If he can screw around with Manta's heart, I don't see why he can't use necromancy to get that thing out of you. Or at least kill it."

"Bite your tongue!"

The bandit tilted his head. "What? Why should I do a silly thing like that?"

The shaman shook while hugging himself. "Dammit… This thing is screwing with my head now!"

Tokagero frowned. "Come on, Ryu. It'd be no different from an abortion. Well, except it wouldn't be a human, and it wouldn't be in a woman's yadda-yadda." A moment later, he looked at Ryu confusedly. "Ryu? Are you… crying?"

"What is wrong with me?" he choked out. "I'm Bokuto no Ryu, for cripes sake! I'm not supposed to feel like this! Ren's right! I'm turning into a god damned house wife!"

Tokagero was quiet for a moment, and then smiled weakly. "Yeah… But you're still one cool guy."

Ryu was quiet for a while, and then sighed as tears continued to run down his face, though by this point he had calmed down some.

"Ryu, come on. You can't be sure they'll take that thing out of you," Tokagero said with a frown. "At least at home, you've got a chance to get it out. Faust wouldn't let you die."

The brunette was quiet for a while as he contemplated.

"Ryu."

The brunette sighed. "I'm coming," he said as he stood up, but when he turned to begin his journey home, he froze. Before him stood a monstrously large xeno-boar, and next to him, was a much smaller one. In fact, this one was the first xeno-boar Ryu had encountered that was smaller than himself. He looked back and forth quickly, and then began backing up nervously. "H-Hey… Uh… As nice as some of you guys are… I… Uh…"

"There's no reason to be afraid," the larger said, it's human speech quite clear, and then it stepped forward and grasped Ryu's arm.

"H-Hey! Let me go!" the shaman said frantically, then began trying to pull away. "Tokagero, help!" He looked around confusedly when there was no answer. Where had the bandit disappeared to now?

"You have your orders," the large boar said to the small one.

"Right," it replied, then turned and jogged away.

"Look… I… I'm having a bad day. I'm sure you know what it's like to have a bad day. The boss has been jerkin' you around. One of your best friends betrays you. You run into an alien from another planet. So… Maybe you could let me off the hook?" Ryu tried desperately. He froze when one of the large hands came to rest against the side of his face, then looked confusedly at the creature.

"I will take care of you," it said quietly. "Don't… fight me…"

Ryu's face reddened slightly as he stared at the boar, and then his eyes widened when he received a deep kiss. It certainly wasn't skilled, but at the same time there was something very familiar to it. His heart rate suddenly sped up as a thought came to mind. A not-too-distant memory of Lyserg. Suddenly Stone was beginning to seem like a guardian angel. _Oh, Kami, no," _he thought shakily.

-

"Now!" Hao yelled.

The creature that held Keiko looked backwards slightly, then his eyes widened when a blast of fire shot towards him. A moment later he let out a roar of pain as Harusame's blade cut through to the bone, then quickly released the mother while jumping backwards.

"Huh? Mom! Spirit of Fire, stop!" Hao yelled.

Spirit of Fire blinked, and then turned into a chibi form while frantically chasing after the fire ball.

"Ahh!"

Anna looked back quickly hearing Manta, and then with a growl she shot into the house.

"Huh? Wait!" Faust said while following her.

"Hmph." Stone watched with narrowed eyes as Spirit of Fire barely caught his attack, and then looked to T.J., who was becoming more edgy by the minute. "Let them handle this. If their abilities are useful, we can save some ammo and some irritation."

The girl nodded slowly, though her expression was full of doubt.

-

"Manta!" Anna said as she went through the house. "Manta, where are you!"

"Dammit. Where are the soldiers?" Faust demanded, and then whipped around when he heard a chortle.

"You mean those fools?" a small xeno-boar demanded with a thumb pointing over his shoulder. The two looked past him and saw the soldiers frozen solid.

"Where's Manta?" Anna demanded angrily.

"Heh. He's safe," he replied.

"This one's… different," Faust said with a frown.

-

Ren watched with narrowed eyes as Hao and Yoh fought together against their opponent. This one was obviously a quick learner, and the Tao was becoming anxious. "Bason!"

"Hai!" the warlord replied while appearing.

"Ko-koro-ro!" Kororo cried while flying over to Ren.

"Not now," he snapped, and then his eyes narrowed further when he noticed a faint sound. He whipped around quickly, and then shot for the bushes.

"Ko-ko-koro!"

-

"_Dammit. Don't maternal instincts include ass-kicking?"_ Ryu thought shakily as his shirt was removed.

"It's still very young," the boar commented while massaging one area of Ryu's chest. "It still has at least a week to go…"

Ryu swallowed hard. He began wondering what was holding him back from fighting, and then his eye twitched when the boar nuzzled its face against his.

"I know," he said quietly to Ryu. "I know you're scared. It's okay. I'm not angry."

"_Dammit… Either he's very slow or he's sadistic," _Ryu thought, and then his eyes widened again when it began to kiss him. He shook his head frantically while trying to pull away, but failed to escape as the bore pinned him against the tree.

"I know… it's hard to understand," he said gently. "Just… give me a chance."

Ryu whimpered as he was kissed more passionately, and quickly decided he was ready to marry Yohmei if it would get him away from this thing. He shook his head weakly as tears ran down his face, and then began to feel light-headed. A moment later he fell limp against his captor.

"Ryu!" he exclaimed worriedly, and then carefully lifted him up. "Hold on. I'll take you to help…"

"Sick freak! Get your hands off him!" Lyserg and Shizuka's voices yelled in unison.

"Hmm?" He looked back to the two young shamans and eyed them for a moment, then began to glare. "Hmph. Ryu's coming with me."

"Like hell he is!" Lyserg yelled.

"Even Lyserg's better than you!" Shizuka yelled.

"Gee. Thanks," Lyserg muttered with a quirked eyebrow, then regained his attention. "Give us Ryu-chan, and we'll let you live."

"Huh? Uh… L-Lyserg?" Shizuka said nervously.

He frowned. "Hmph. You're the one who took him?"

"Damn right!" Lyserg snapped. "And as soon as I get him back, I'm tattooing his butt-cheeks with 'Lyserg's Bitch'!"

"Bakayaro," Shizuka growled.

"Hang in there, Ryu-kun," he said as he knelt down and laid Ryu gently on the ground, and then he stood up and looked back. "If you wish to fight, I would be delighted."

"Lyserg, did you have to coax him!" Shizuka squeaked.

"I'll keep him busy," he said in a low voice. "You get Ryu out of here."

"Me! He's fast asleep!" she hissed. "I can't handle weight the way you do. You get him out of here!"

"You're no fighter."

"Sure I am. He'll tire out before I do," she replied. "Marcus has names for me for a reason."

"Diethyl Lyserg," he called out. "If you're ready, then let's get started."

"You're fighting me first!" Shizuka called.

"No," he replied.

"No!"

"No. I have something to settle," he replied, never moving his eyes from Lyserg.

-

"Where's Ren?" Keiko asked while looking around.

"Koro koro ko-ko-ro!" Kororo cried.

"Not now, Kororo," Mikihisa replied while looking around.

"Koro ko!"

"Don't worry. We'll find Horo Horo," Keiko said with a warm smile, and then yelped when a blast of energy shot past.

"Jesus!" Stone yelped, almost getting hit, and then reached down and retrieved his shot gun, then turned and fired three shots into the tree from which the energy came from. A minute later, a pinkish mass of muscle and claws fell to the ground. "T.J., get me something better," he barked. "And while you're at it, make sure Oyamada and his brat is safe."

"Right," she replied and then ran into the hotel.

"Where are those guys?" Stone muttered while scanning the area quickly, and then smirked when he heard Yoh and Hao's opponent make one last attempt to kill the boys. He turned and around and watched with amusement as Yoh leapt forward and slashed the Harusame through the monstrosity's neck while Hao sent a blast of fire through its stomach. "Not bad…"

"Heeeh…"

Stone blinked when he heard the tubular-sounding laugh, then his eyes widened. "Take cover!"

"Shchawky daw," the voice laughed, and then there was an explosion.

---

Funbari is losing its battle! Lyserg's stubbornness is over bearing, and Yoh-Yoh team is growing further apart! But why are those guys retreating? What nightmare is emerging! Yoh-kun! Ren-kun! Lyserg-kun! Everybody!

**Next time: Battle of Hearts! The Waking Nightmare!**


	11. Battle of Hearts! part 1

**_Chapter 11 – Battle of Hearts! The Waking Nightmare! (part 1)_**

"Morphy, in the quartz!"

"I'll never know what Ryu-kun sees in you," the xeno-boar said quietly. "After all you put him through."

Lyserg's eyes narrowed. "Shizuka, go," he said quietly.

"But…"

"Shizuka, he wants to fight me. Not you."

"But Lyserg…"

"Shizuka, just once would you do as you're told." He looked back slightly. "I need to find out what this guy's problem is, and how he would know what I put Ryu through."

She was quiet for a moment, and then finally she sighed. "Fine… As soon as I have the chance."

-

"What happened?" Mikihisa mumbled as he opened his eyes, and then he blinked confusedly when he realized his head rested in Keiko's lap, her hands gripping his tightly. "Keiko, are you okay?"

She looked at him with teary eyes, then leaned down and hugged him. "My hero!"

"Hmm… I kinda like this…"

Yoh opened his eyes, then his eyes widened when he found Hao on top of him. "Get off!"

Hao groaned at the sudden yell, and then he rolled off. "Sorry…" Slowly he sat up, and then groaned. "What the hell happened?"

The two brothers stood up and looked to their left when they heard a painful grunt, then they blinked when their gaze found Stone leaning against a tree, slowly pulling a piece of metal out of his leg.

"Heeeh…"

Yoh's eyes widened, recognizing the sound from just before the explosion. This time it was just right behind him. As he whipped around, something sliced into his side and sent him flying into the barely-standing wall of Funbari Onsen.

"Yoh!" Hao cried, and then yelped when he was grabbed by the throat.

"Ah. The little one's mate."

Hao slowly opened his eyes and found it was another one of the large aliens, though its attire was different. "L-little…one…?" he gasped.

It smirked at Hao. "There's a hefty bounty on your head," he commented. "I guess I should consider myself lucky."

"Get your filthy… whatever, off my son!" Miki yelled.

"Spirit of Fire!" Yoh called, then and then looked to it as it appeared in chibi formed, somewhat stunned. "Spirit of Fire, get Hao away."

It growled with a nod, and then expanded into one of its much larger forms.

The creature growled, and then it brought a blade to Hao's throat. "Are you willing to risk him?"

"Onii…" Yoh said shakily as Spirit of Fire stepped back slightly.

-

"Big Ben!"

The boar dodged to the left as Lyserg attacked, and then when Lyserg was in range he grabbed the boy by the back of the neck and pinned him against the ground.

"Lyserg!" Shizuka cried, shaking a bit.

"Give up?" he demanded of the shaman.

"Like hell!" he snapped. "Morphy!"

Shizuka watched as the pendulum wrapped around the boar's arm tightly, and then she blinked while looking back. "Huh? Mayumi! Check it! I'll get Ryu-chan."

"Hai," her mother replied while appearing, then shot towards one of the tomb stones.

While Mayumi was busy, Shizuka ran to Ryu and began shaking his shoulders. "Ryu! Ryu, wake up!" She shook some when he didn't respond, then leaned down and listened carefully. When she found his breathing was labored, she looked around frantically. "Mom!"

"Tokagero?" Mayumi yelped finding the spirit looking quite distressed while staring out of one of the stones. She frowned when she saw him talking, but heard nothing, and then noticed a charm held him back. "Huh? Shizuka, get over here!"

The miko growled softly, and then looked down. "I'll be right back," she said gently, then stood and ran to the spirits aid, yelping when Lyserg's pendulum sliced about an inch off of her bangs. "Too close!"

"Sorry," the shaman apologized while looking around. "Where are you!"

-

"What the hell are you?" Ren yelled as he pursued the creature that had caught his attention. A moment later, something rose from the ground and tripped the Tao.

"Buchama!" Bason cried while appearing next to his young master.

"Dammit," he growled, and then looked back. A moment later his expression softened when he saw a grey puppy peer out from under the strange black branch. Quickly, he reached forward and scooped it into his arms. "Hey there, little guy. What are you doing out here with all the bad guys?"

"Buchama!"

"Huh?" Ren looked up, and then he froze when he found a snake-like creature looming over him. "Ooh, cheese and crackers…"

-

"What in the name of Kami-sama was that?" Faust said while looking up with a groan, and then looked quickly to Anna. "Are you alright!" he asked as she climbed out from under a mess of boards.

"I'll live," she growled, and then looked around. "Mansumi and his friends are going to pay for all of this. Now… where did our friend go?"

Faust looked around quietly, and then yelped when the xeno-boar suddenly threw a bunch of rubble off of himself.

"Idiot," it growled, and then looked up slightly.

"Where's Manta!" Faust shouted.

The creature looked quietly towards the back of the hotel, and then growled while running past Anna and Faust.

"Huh?" Anna watched with a twitchy eye, and then ran after it.

"What on Earth?" Faust demanded, and then whipped around when he heard a small cough. "Manta!"

"F-Faust! Help!"

Faust quickly began searching. "Manta, hang in there!"

-

"Why don't you let the brat go?" Stone asked with a quirked eyebrow. "He's useless anyways if he's dead."

"Why should you care, Stone?" the alien demanded. "This boy has caused quite a bit of trouble."

"Yeah, well, see his brother over there? He's gonna cause you even more trouble if you kill him," Stone replied. "Quite honestly, my other charges are less annoying than he would be."

"W-Wait a minute!" Hao suddenly yelped, and then looked up hatefully. "Now I get it! You're the kisama that took my strawberry-chip cookie!"

The alien looked at Hao with a confused expression, and then looked back when he noticed a xeno-boar shoot out of the house. "Hey! You've got a job!"

He came to a stop and growled a little. "You tellin' _me_ what to do?" he asked, and then looked to Kororo.

"Koro Koro!" the little Ainu spirit cried.

The boar continued to watch her quietly, and then looked to Yoh. "Where's Tao!"

"How should I know! He's the idiot who ran off," the brunette cried.

"You seem kinda… small…" Stone said with a twitchy eyebrow, and then blinked while drawing a pistol.

Yoh watched confusedly as the creature's blue eyes widened, and then looked back quickly when he heard Hao start yelling.

"LET ME GO! I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS! I GET AIR SICK! I…" the older twin cried, trying to get the creature to stop rising into the air.

"Spirit of Fire!" Yoh called, and then smirked when the spirit appeared behind the alien and slashed at the alien's belt. A moment later it yelped while releasing Hao and landed heavily.

"Geh-ah-AH!" Hao cried while scrambling away from the creature and behind Yoh.

"Since when am I the brave one?" Yoh demanded irritably.

"Since that thing tried to slit my throat," Hao replied nervously.

"Idiot," Anna muttered while running by the two, and followed the xeno-boar.

"This is getting confusing," Mikihisa groaned, and then yelped when a bullet whizzed by his ear. A moment later a warm, sticky substance hit the back of his head, and then he turned around and froze when he found yet another alien standing before him, missing half of it's upper head.

"EWWY!" Keiko cried.

"This is insane," T.J. muttered while handing Stone a large and rather unfriendly-looking weapon, and then she looked around. "Where'd Tao go?"

"After a Schlark," Stone replied.

"Shinka buttagiri!" Yoh cried while attacking creature that had attempted to take his brother.

"Spirit of Fire!" Hao yelled, his voice starting to sound a lot more like something from his days of insanity.

"Yoh-kun!" Manta cried as he ran out of the almost completely ruined hotel, and then grabbed the shaman's hand when he finished his attack. "Yoh-kun, please lets go!"

"Manta, get back here!" Faust cried while running out.

"Yoh-kun, it isn't safe here!" Manta cried, tears running down his face. "Dad can take us somewhere safe!"

"Where is the old coot anyway?" Stone demanded.

"He went ahead back to the city," Manta replied while looking up.

"We can't go anywhere without Ren and the others," Yoh replied softly as Hao's attack finished the remaining enemy, and then he looked down. "When we find the others, we'll go to Izumo, okay?"

-

"What were you doing in there!" Shizuka yelled at Tokagero.

"That bloody alien locked me in there!" Tokagero cried with confusion, and then the two and Mayumi shot back to Ryu "Ryu-san! Ryu!" the bandit began yelling.

"Aah!" Lyserg cried out.

"Huh? Lyserg-kun!" Shizuka cried while whipping around, and then froze when she saw the boar held Lyserg up about a foot from the ground by the throat.

"Ki..sama…" Lyserg growled while glaring at the boar. "Who the Hell are you?"

The boar's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter any more."

"Lyserg-sama!" Morphine cried while appearing next to her master.

"I must admit, this transformation has had some advantages," he mused while eyeing Morphine. "I don't intend to kill your master, nor do I intend to take him." He looked back to Lyserg. "I'm only here for Ryu-san." With that he threw Lyserg aside and walked back towards Ryu and the others.

"Huh? You can't have him!" Shizuka said while taking a defensive stance. "If you won't say who you are now, tell me who you were before!"

"Hmph. It doesn't matter. Please move aside Miss Shizuka."

Her eyebrow twitched. "Hey! How do you know me! I'm not registered anywhere!" She swallowed nervously as he came to a stop in front of her, suddenly feeling very, very small.

"We're friends," he replied, and then looked to Ryu. "I don't intend for harm to befall him. I want to save him."

She glared after a moment, and then brought one fist forward and yelped when he caught it roughly.

"I don't want to fight you," he said quietly. "Please trust me. I'm your friend."

"Pft! Yeah. Right. And I'm the Shaman Queen," she snickered.

"Am I dead?" Ryu suddenly muttered.

"Ryu-san!" Tokagero cried happily, and then hugged his partner.

"Move!" the boar said suddenly and shoved Shizuka aside and knelt next to Ryu. "Ryu, how does your throat feel?"

Ryu looked up, and then an ashamed expression crossed his face.

"Kisama!" Lyserg yelled suddenly, and then the pendulum passed through the boar's shoulder.

"Argh!" Quickly the creature looked back and glared satanically at Lyserg. "You bastard kid," he growled, and then reached back and pulled the pendulum from out of him, and then shot towards Lyserg.

"L-Lyserg!" Ryu cried while sitting up, and then groaned. A moment later he leaned over and began to vomit.

"Ryu-san!" Tokagero and Mayumi cried.

"Mom, get your butt over here!" Shizuka yelled while pulling her pendant off. "Oversoul!"

Meanwhile, Lyserg was taking advantage of his smaller size and dodging each time the boar lunged at him, and then in turn darting around him and attacking with the pendulum.

"Diamond Shard!" Shizuka called.

The boar whipped around and then his eyes widened when several shards of ice shot towards him, and then he brought his arms up defensively.

"Big Ben!" Lyserg shouted, and then the boar yelped when the wire tower came towards him. Lyserg's eye twitched when it dodged, and then tried to change direction, but was too slow and earned a fist slamming into his spine. "Aah!"

"Lyserg-kun!" Shizuka cried as the British shaman was knocked across the area and slammed into some of the tombstones. She quickly ran to him and knelt down. "Lyserg-kun?"

"Baka… Don't let him get Ryu," the younger shaman muttered, and then slowly climbed to his feet.

"Ryu-san, come on!" Tokagero yelled frantically at his partner, who was still on his hands and knees.

The brunette looked up shakily. "I-I can't…"

"Ryu, what the devil is wrong with you!" Tokagero yelled. "You're the toughest guy I know!"

"I don't know," he replied while looking down. "When I try to think of how to fight… everything goes blurry and suddenly I feel like… like…"

"Like you can't allow the little one to be harmed," the boar replied as he walked towards Ryu, and then swung one arm backwards in time to connect with Shizuka's chest and send her sailing into a tree.

Lyserg glanced at the girl for a moment, and then smiled weakly when she made some obscene comment about the boar with a groan.

Ryu looked up at the boar quietly, and then slowly he raised to his feet and began to back up. "J-Just go away!"

"Ryu-san!" Tokagero yelled. "Let me oversoul!"

"His furiyoku is too low," the boar replied, and then reached forward and grabbed the young man's arm. "Ryu, this isn't something that can be taken care of by the humans."

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Ryu cried while trying to pull away.

"I said leave him alone!" Lyserg yelled as he shot forward and slammed the pendulum through the boar's armor.

Shizuka coughed some as she landed on the ground, and then she ran back while raising the oversouled pendant and brought the blade down on the boar's arm. She smirked when it cried out and let Ryu go, and then looked over. "Ryu-kun, if you can't fight, then get back home! Lyserg and I'll catch up."

"I'm sorry, Miss Shizuka," it growled while turned and slammed its fist into her ribs and sent flying into a tree again.

"Shizuka!" Mayumi cried as she appeared next to her daughter, and then yelped when Shizuka fell out of the tree.

"Ryu, go!" Lyserg yelled as the pendulum's wire began wrapping around the boar.

After a hesitant moment, then shaman nodded. "I'll send help."

"Ryu-san, wait!" the boar cried.

"Come on," Tokagero said. "I'll go ahead and make sure there aren't any ambushes."

-

Ren cried out as he was thrown against a tree violently by the snake-like creature, and then he protectively hugged the puppy, which was now in his vest, it's head resting against Ren's collar bone while yapping in a mix of fear and anger at the alien. "Puppy-baka," Ren muttered with a weak smile, and then yelped as the snake creature brought it's tail up to reveal a gnarled blade of bone. Quickly he scrambled out of the way and searched frantically for his quan-dao.

"Buchama, over here!" Bason called.

"About damn time!" he snapped at the warlord, and then barely dodged the blade again as he made his way to the weapon. Once it was in his hands, he whipped around while forcing Bason into the quan-dao, and then blocked a third attack, the puppy continuing to yap. "Quiet, you little Ainu-wannabe," Ren muttered. "I'm trying to concentrate!" He jumped backwards when the hissing creature changed it's attack and brought the blade upwards from the ground towards his chest, and then his heart skipped a beat when he heard a sickening, canine-like growl from behind him. He whipped around and swallowed hard when he found five creatures resembling a mix of dogs and something Ren had never saw before. "What the hell?" Ren muttered, his voice cracking a bit.

"Buchama, I suggest we retreat," Bason said nervously.

"I… agree…" Ren said shakily, and then looked around. A moment later panic began to fill him when he heard a snort. "Now what!" he yelled, trying to stay in Ren-composure, and then he bit his lower lip when he saw a flash of navy fur. A moment later a xeno-boar about his size came into view and looked at Ren for a moment. "What next?" Ren groaned while attempting to back up in the remaining direction, but three of the canine creatures shot forward and completed the circle.

There was a long, tense moment of silence, and then the boar smirked and shot forward.

"Golden China Dance!" Ren shouted as he swiped the quan-dao frantically, and then stared when the attacks missed the boar, but sighed in relief when he saw two of the canines had been sliced in half. He looked back and saw the remaining three charge towards him, and immediately forgot about the snake and boar, and jumped up while focusing. "Golden China Dance!" he called again and repeated the attack, and then his eyes widened when he only hit two. Before he was able to react, the remainder slammed against him, knocking him to the ground, and then brought its paws down on his shoulders. A minute later, six four-inch claws sunk through his shoulders and pinned him on the ground.

"Buchama!" Bason cried as Ren brought the quan-dao up defensively to block the creature from biting his neck and throat, and the pup.

"Koro!" Kororo suddenly cried, and then a thick layer of ice covered the creature.

"Kororo!" Ren cried, deciding he didn't have the time, energy or patience to cover up his relief, and then he whipped the quan-dao carefully and shattered the creature's legs, and then pushed it off of him and managed to climb to his feet while pulling the claws out of his shoulder.

"Koro Koro ko-koro!" she cried while floating next to them, and then the shaman and two spirits froze when they heard two blood-curdling shrieks.

"Naniou?" Ren demanded while charging forward, darting past trees until he came to a clearing, and then he froze when he found the boar and snake fighting. "What on Earth is going on here?" Ren asked confusedly.

"An invasion?" Bason asked stupidly.

"I'll hurt you," Ren warned, and then looked up with disbelief as the two continued to fight. He stared as the snake continued to stab its tale forward, only to miss, while the boar depended on brute strength to beat it.

"Koro Koro!" Kororo cried.

The boar looked over with confusion, revealing a large gash that ran from its forehead, over its left eye, and down to the right side of its neck. A moment later, it cried out when the blunter part of the blade slammed into its chest, and then snarled painfully when the tale itself wrapped around his throat and began to choke him.

Ren was still, still unsure of what to think. Suddenly a feeling of sympathy for the boar began to form, making his stomach queasy. "Bason… Is it just me… or did that thing look like it was being protective?"

"Koro!" Kororo shrieked at the Tao while slapping him across the face, and then shot forward. "Korooo!" she cried while sending a blast of arctic ice over the snake.

"Maybe it's one of the good ones?" Bason suggested.

The puppy suddenly began whining while nuzzling its head against Ren's neck.

Ren nodded, and then cried out when he felt something bit into the back of his neck as he was tackled to the ground.

"Buchama!" Bason cried.

"Huh?" The boar broke away from the frozen snake, and then quickly smashed a fist into it, causing it to shatter into several pieces, and then after placing a small object down with the shards, he shot towards the canine creature that had supposedly been killed when Kororo froze it.

The pup growled while scampering out of Ren's vest, and then looked angrily at the creature and began barking.

"Dammit," Ren gritted out, shaking a little as the creature bit harder into his neck and began shaking him, and then a single tear escaped.

The pup growled more fiercely, and then ran under Ren and bit into one of the creature's remaining hind legs and began tugging.

"Little baka," Ren choked out with a painful smile, spotting the puppy using it's small, sharp teeth to shred the creature's leg, and grunted when he was suddenly released and hit the ground. A moment later he looked up and saw the boar now had a hold of the canine and was glaring hatefully at it as it squirmed. "Come here," he said quickly while scooping the pup into his arms, and then with a painful groan he scrambled away, only to let out a yelp when there was a small explosion. He looked back and saw that the pieces of the creature were no more, and then looked back to the two remaining creatures when he heard a sickening yowl. He stared shakily as he stood, almost reaching a state of trauma when he saw the boar had ripped the smaller creature's head off, and then he hugged the puppy firmly while turning and beginning to run.

"Buchama, aren't you going to…" Bason began.

"I'm not fighting that thing," he replied angrily. "I don't have enough strength after that last attack.

"Koro Koro ko!" Kororo yelped.

"Huh?" Ren whipped around, and then froze when he found the boar was pursuing him. "Shit! Is this thing rabid or something!" he demanded while quickly releasing the pup, which took a defensive stance, rather than run like Ren had planned.

"Buchama!" Bason cried.

Ren's eyes widened, realizing it had been a bad idea to stop, and then he squeezed his eyes shut, letting out an involuntary whimper. _"Horokeu-chan,"_ he thought, finally too tired to fight the urge to cry.


	12. Battle of Hearts! The Wakingnightmare! p...

**_Chapter 12 – Battle of Hearts! The Waking Nightmare! (part 2)_**

Yoh sighed while looking around the woods. "You'd think it'd be easier to spot a purple spike-head."

Manta whimpered softly, holding onto Yoh's hand tightly. "It feels bad out here, Yoh-kun…"

Yoh blinked, and then looked down with a grin. "You getting scared, Manta?"

"Uh huh," Manta replied, moving closer to Yoh.

"You knooow," the brunette began, "it is pretty nice and peaceful out here."

Manta looked up with a mix of nervousness and suspicion. "Yoh-kun?"

"And there's nothing more fun than being naughty while you're nervous," Yoh giggled, and then scooped Manta up and pressed him against a tree. "Well?"

Manta shook, and then slapped Yoh. "Yoh-kun, we've got more important things to think about!"

"But I can't focus, Manta," Yoh whimpered. "Mean ol' Stone's been making me a stone-head. I wanna be a mush-head again!" He grinned when the blonde looked away, and then became curious when he noticed Manta flush. "Manta?" He looked in the direction Manta was, and then swallowed nervously when he realized they were at the edge of the woods. Not far away in the clearing laid a decapitated, canine mutation. Quickly he brought Manta into his arms while rubbing the back of the blonde's head. "Shh… Don't look, Manta," he said gently, and then walked over to the remains and frowned slightly. "What on Earth happened?"

Manta whimpered some while nuzzling his face into Yoh's shoulder, and then looked in the direction they had come from. "Yoh-kun? I wanna go back," he murmured.

Yoh was still for a moment, and then nodded as he straightened up, and frowned. "This fog is making it hard to see, though."

"Manta-san!"

Manta looked up quickly. "Tamura?" After a moment, he wriggled out of Yoh's arms and ran in the direction in which he had heard the Oyamada caretaker. "Tamura, where are you?"

"Manta, wait!" Yoh called while running after his boyfriend.

-

"Buchama!" Bason cried.

Ren's eyes widened, realizing it had been a bad idea to stop, and then he squeezed his eyes shut, letting out an involuntary whimper. _"Horokeu-chan,"_ he thought, finally too tired to fight the urge to cry. A moment later his heart skipped a beat as he was…

Glomped?

He and the boar tumbled to the ground, barely missing the pup, and then the Tao froze and stared at the sky with utter confusion as the boar cuddled him.

"Buchama! Buchama!" Bason cried.

"Koro-koro," Kororo sighed with a smile.

"Hee… Tao Ren-chan," the boar said idiotically while nuzzling his face into Ren's chest.

"What the hell?" Ren squeaked, his eyes shaking. Aliens he could handle. Killer aliens he could handle. But psychotic killer alien boars that glomped and called him Tao Ren-chan? After taking a minute to think through what had just happened, his eyes fluttered shut as he curled against the boar. "Ainu-asshole," he snarled after a minute.

"Koro Koro!" Kororo cried happily while hugging her master, nuzzling her face in the bluish-black fur.

"Mm… Tao Ren-chan…"

Ren looked up confusedly at Horo. "What in the name of all that's holy are you doing?" His eye twitched when he only sighed in response.

"Maybe the transformation, uh…" Bason searched for a polite word.

"Made him mental?" Ren suggested, and then blinked and pulled away. "KISAMA!" he shrieked while standing up. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Horo looked up with a deep whine and then sat up and looked dumbly at the ground.

"Yeah, you better bow your head in shame," Ren snapped. "What's the big idea, making me think you're one of them!"

"Sorry," he replied, and then let out a small howl of pain when the puppy bit his wrist. "OW! Dumb mutt! What'd I do to you!"

"Traumatized Buchama," Bason replied with a quirked eyebrow.

"I wasn't traumatized!" the Tao cried. "I was stunned!"

"To a point where you finally cried?" Bason replied, seeming quite annoyed. "Admit it. You've been so busy making yourself angry and aggressive that you weren't able to take an emotional breath."

Ren's spike grew about three inches, and then he drew his quan-dao and sliced the spirit in half, and then looked back to Horo as the warlord cried out. "Horo Horo, quit sitting there like some five-year-old brat who didn't get any cake."

Horo rubbed his wrist painfully, and then a thought crossed his mind. Immediately he stood up and loomed over the younger. "I may be the youngest and smallest one of them, but I'm still bigger than you," he snapped. "So don't push me."

Ren's eye twitched. "Are you going against _me!_" he demanded.

"Yeah!" he replied dumbly.

"What happened to you being evil?"

"Uh…" He thought, standing in a rather Miki-like position. "I think… Uh… Oh yeah!" He grinned. "I guess my pretty nurse made me feel nice in my head, so…. Yeah!"

Ren's eye twitched. "Pretty nurse?"

"Yeah… Uh…" He sighed with a whimper. "I can't remember much, though. Just a pretty human nurse made me feel all better when I was hurting!"

"Koro ko," Kororo sighed.

"Yeah," Ren replied. "He is a bigger doof."

"Hey! I'm stronger than you!" Horo whined while looking up at Ren.

"Pft. Yeah, right. Maybe physically, but you don't have enough intelligence to know how to use it," Ren retorted. "Come on. The others are probly getting their butts kicked without me there to protect them."

Bason shot Horo a glance, who nodded in agreement.

-

"Ryu-san, move it!" Tokagero said irritably.

The brunette looked up with a groan. "Tokagero, I don't exactly feel that strong right now."

"That's no reason to be lagging! Come on! You're the toughest guy I know. Quit acting like and expec….." he trailed off with a thoughtful expression.

Ryu shot him an angry glance. "In case you hadn't realized, I practically AM an expecting mother! Ugh… When I get a hold of Stone, I'm gonna…" He too trailed off, and then sighed. "Okay. After this is over, I'll do something to him."

Tokagero floated over to his partner. "Ryu, come on. It isn't safe out here. The sooner we get home, the sooner you can get this thing aborted." He yelped when Ryu swung a fist at him. "What'd I do! What'd I do!"

Ryu looked angrily at Tokagero for a moment, and then sighed while looking down. "I… I can't do that…"

Tokagero was quiet for a moment, and then blinked. "Hey, Ryu? You been slacking off in your training lately?"

"What does that mean?"

The bandit frowned slightly. "I dunno. Didn't notice it before 'cause of that shirt, but you look different."

Ryu chuckled softly while beginning to walk again, having calmed his chest pain. "Well I do have an alien baby in me. What looks different?"

"I… don't know…" He shook his head. "Why didn't you fight that big guy? Before Shiz and Lyserg showed up, that is."

The young man sighed. "I dunno. There was just a bunch of things. Somehow it was familiar… And then whenever I tried to do something I'd start worrying."

"About what?"

"….."

"Ryu?"

"Forget it…" He placed his hand on his chest with a wince. "I… I wanna go back."

"That's good thinking, Ryu," the bandit said with a smile. "Lets…"

"No. Back to Funbari Hill…"

"Tell you what. How 'bout I take your head off and bring it to that blasted hill?" Ren demanded angrily, causing the two partners to yelp.

"Ren," Ryu said nervously when he saw the Tao had just emerged from the woods, a puppy sticking its head out of his vest, and then shook when he saw the boar that accompanied him. "Ren, behi…"

"It's Horo-baka," Ren snapped.

"Hiya, Ryu!" Horo said cheerfully, creating an awkward atmosphere.

"Horo-baka tells me you're getting' attached to that whatever in your chest," Ren said irritably. "I can deal with that. There's no way in hell I'm letting you try get yourself abducted. Now where are the genderless wonders?"

"We're standing right here," Lyserg spoke up irritably.

Ren looked over with a frown and saw Lyserg standing in a slight slouching pose, bruises and a few gashes covering the visible parts of his body. Shizuka was in a similar state, trying to support the slightly younger shaman while one arm hung uselessly at her side.

"Ryu-san, Faust-papa can help you better than those guys can," Shizuka said while tears began building up. "Even Lyserg-baka could do a better job!"

"And shouldn't Horo-kun be fighting us?" Lyserg asked out of confusion, rather than an urge to fight any more.

"Eh heh," Horo laughed nervously, and then looked over. "Ryu, somebody's gotta carry you."

"I can walk just fine," Ryu replied quietly.

"It's not walking I'm worried about," he replied. "You're not getting enough oxygen. You're gonna pass out in about two and a half minutes."

Ren shook his head. "Aaanyway, I think you guys are gonna have to hightail it out of town. I mean, Stone already started experimentation on you, Ryu, and there's no guarantee he'll leave you alone, Horo."

"What does that mean?" Lyserg demanded.

"Good question," Horo added.

"Idiots, it should be easy enough to figure out. Ryu is experiment yada-yada-98, and he ended up starting before number 97, who became unavailable suddenly. Horo, you're number 97."

Ryu looked up quickly. "Then who is 99 and 100?"

"I've got three guesses for 99," he replied. "I don't know about 100, though. Stone's being careful not to mention much about that one."

"What about 99? We can try to get them to safety first," Shizuka snapped.

Ren closed his eyes with a sigh. "Stone keeps mentioning a pediatrician, so 99 is either very small, young, or else undeveloped." He looked up. "What three people fit that description, among us?"

Horo thought with a frown. "Well… Lyserg's the youngest, and he does have a strong body."

Lyserg flushed.

"Manta is very small though," Ryu said nervously. "Smaller than any of us."

Ren nodded some with a frown. "Each person has some sort of problem, though. We all know how you get about Lyserg, Ryu. It would mean risking any experiments in progress with you. Manta makes sense, except for the fact that Mansumi is his dad, and Mansumi needs Manta, and is paying for half of what happens."

Shizuka nodded. "So it should be safe to cut him out of the picture, then?"

"Not necessarily," Ren replied while closing his eyes. "There's still the case of the third potential."

"Hey, that's right," Lyserg replied. "You said undeveloped, right? As in no puberty? But come on, we're all teenagers."

"Here's a thought. Maybe its Raijin or Marcus," Shizuka said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"Marcus dreams of vending machines, and Raijin dreams of Marcus and his Yoh-sama," Ren muttered. "Getting pretty damn close though."

Ryu froze, ignoring the building dizziness in his head.

"This doesn't make sense," Lyserg complained. "We've all gone through it or are going through it. Even if I _did_ screw up somewhere along the way."

"No. There's still one person," Ren replied. "Think. Who's in the spring with one of us, every day of the month?"

"Shizuka," Ryu sighed.

"Eh!" She yelped, nearly dropping poor Lyserg. "Why me! Nobody in my family is even registered as residents of Japan!" She shot Lyserg an annoyed glance when he began to snicker.

"You have your problems too," Ren said while closing his eyes. "Not being registered makes you difficult to track, which means it'd be hard to prove that you really are the target. Second of all, you have a very primitive diet compared to the rest of us, which means they can't be sure you'll respond well appropriately to whatever they do."

Shizuka groaned as Lyserg started taunting her, and then finally let the shaman drop.

"Hmm? Ryu!" Horo cried while rushing past Ren, and then groaned when he caught the man. "I told you so," he sighed, seeing Ryu was out cold.

"Ryu!" Tokagero cried worriedly.

"Look, something big is coming," Horo said while looking up. "We gotta get outta Funbari as soon as possible."

-

"Anna!" Hao called, and then growled. "Dammit. Why did I have to be the one to go looking for her?" After a moment he blushed, thinking of the sweet smile his otouto had given him when he asked Hao to find the blonde girl. "Dammit. I'm as bad as Ren." He came to a stop and whimpered. "Why couldn't Mom or Dad come, though? I've got a bounty on my head for crying out loud!"

"Which gives us a reason to send you out," Stone spoke up, causing the teen to yelp.

"Don't do that!" Hao said angrily as Spirit of Fire appeared in chibi form, looking somewhat angry, itself.

"Whatever," Stone said while looking around. "They're getting desperate. Can't understand why, though."

"What do you mean?" Hao asked with a frown.

"This fog. It's actually a mix Clorten essence and a couple of other unpleasant things."

"Essence?" Hao asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Steamed semen, bluntly," he replied. "Excellent for impregnating conceptive humans and shamans like Ryu, but other than that, it's just a damn good way to piss people off through nausea."

Hao's eye twitched, seeming officially grossed out, and then looked around. "So why are you out here? I thought you hated us."

"Sure I hate you," Stone replied. "I like the girl, though. She's the only tolerable person among you guys, and the only one who seems to know how to communicate the rest of you to me."

"Uh huh," Hao said while closing his eyes and focusing, hoping to use his furiyoku to find Anna.

"Just so you know, somebody we're working with _is _a traitor," Stone said while pulling out a pair of sunglasses.

"Oh? And how would you know?"

"Because I've been doing this for a long time. I know when something's wrong." He looked around quietly.

"Then why didn't you figure out something was wrong **before** the hotel went boom!"

"Because I had been distracted," he replied.

Hao sighed. "Fine, then. Who do you think it is?" he said, noticing something West from where they stood.

"Can't rightly say I know," he replied. "I doubt its Ryu."

"And why is that?" Hao asked as he began walking again.

"His hormones," Stone replied. "He's thinking like a mother, and he looks at you kids the same way Keiko or any other mother I've encountered does. He acts like one, too."

Hao snorted. He couldn't argue with that little comment. "Alright, then. But he's got one of them in him. Doesn't that put him at a higher risk?"

"No. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Like any other case, he went to them to protect the fetus that's growing him, and to protect you kids." Stone closed his eyes. "It's somebody else. We're overlooking something, but I can't figure out what."

"What are you doing out here?"

Stone and Hao looked up curiously, and then stared when they saw Ren, Lyserg and Shizuka, with boar-form Horo carrying Ryu behind them.

"Yeah, it's just Horo," Ren said while nodding backwards. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"Looking for Anna and you guys," Hao sighed.

Stone eyed Horo suspiciously.

"What? Never seen a fifth columnist before?" Horo snapped.

"A what now?" Stone demanded.

"Fifth columnist, stupid," Shizuka snapped. "What, the big bad alien hunter has never seen 'V' before? It means aliens opposed to the aliens' evil intentions!"

Stone quirked an eyebrow.

"Whatever," Hao said. "As long as he isn't getting in my way, I'm fine with him."

Ren grumbled a bit, and then looked back. "Horo, Lyserg and Shizuka get back to the hotel. I'll go with these two."

"Sounds great to me," Lyesrg said with a tired smile as Horo nodded.

"And you, you little furball," Ren said with a smile while looking down at the puppy that was now napping in his shirt. "You're coming with me."

-

Yoh groaned as he opened his eyes. Immediately he began wondering how long it had been since he was knocked out, and then looked up. A moment later his eyes widened slightly when he found Manta a few meters away. "Manta?" he whispered shakily, staring at the stripped blonde. A greenish-red secretion of some sort surrounded Manta's waist and led back up to the ceiling of the cave they had somehow been brought to, leaving Manta to hang in a somewhat uncomfortable form. After squinting for a moment, Yoh guessed by the redness in Manta's face that he had been hanging there for a while. With a groan he began to move, and then frowned when he found the sticky secretion held him down. He frowned even more when he saw his shirt was gone. _"Is this some kinda sick joke?"_ he thought shakily, and then looked up when he heard a soft growl.

Manta made a small moan as he began to stir. "My head…"

"Manta! Manta, are you okay?" Yoh asked quickly, and then froze when he noticed movement. He looked to his left slightly and shook a bit, noticing several large, blackish-coloured, serpent-like creatures. "H-Huh?"

Manta's eyes opened part way after a few minutes, and then he spotted what was causing Yoh's nervous sounds. After a moment, he let out one of his more spazzy shrieks, startling every creature in the cave.

"H-Hey! Let Manta go!" Yoh cried while struggling against the secretion. "He… He's just a baby! He's not worth your time!"

_"Is that so, little shaman?"_

Yoh's eyes widened, and then he let out a painful gasp once the deep, overwhelming voice disappeared from his mind.

"Yoh-kun!" Manta cried, seeing the brunette in pain. "Yoh-kun, what's wrong!"

"What was that?" Yoh whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut, and then looked back up when he heard an odd sound. Something between a clicking and a far-off screeching. He looked around shakily for a moment, and then finally he noticed the wall move. "Huh? What are you!"

After several minutes, a bluish-grey form seemed to emerge from the wall. As it emerged it seemed to become larger and larger, until finally it stopped. Yoh stared up shakily. It's body was long and muscular with arms that seemed brittle yet fatal. It's legs weren't as brittle looking, suggesting to Yoh that this thing was built for the outdoors, rather than being crouched down in a cave like it was now. Finally he brought himself to look at the creature's face, and then immediately he wish he hadn't. The shape of it's skull reminded him of a picture he had once seen when doing a research project on WWII concentration camps. Long, and thin. But it's other characteristics were far from being human. Dull, orange eyes peered out from under what appeared to be a skeletal helmet, one full of hunger for blood. The other for lust. For a split moment, Yoh almost wondered if maybe it was related to him or Lyserg, thinking of their own little problems. Below its eyes, rest its nose, which was shaped like a gnarled bee stinger. Below that was a rather wide mouth, seeming to grin at Yoh with powerful jaws and wicked, sharp teeth.

Manta whimpered uncontrollably, having a much better view of the creature, and then began trying to pull himself up so he could at least curl up a bit to feel safer. "Wh-what's going on?"

Yoh swallowed hard while staring. "What are you going to do?"

_"So you understand so quickly. I'm impressed."_

Yoh winced. "How do you…. What…"

He looked at Yoh quietly for a moment, and then turned his attention to Manta. After a moment, he grasped the small blonde head in one hand while bringing his other hand to Manta's mouth, forcing a red, jelly-like substance into the boy's mouth, and then covered his mouth.

"What are you doing!" Yoh said angrily.

_"I'm finished with you, so be silent,"_ he thought angrily.

Manta shook his head frantically for several moments, tears running down his face, but soon began to still, his eyes fluttering shut again.

"Manta!" Yoh cried.

_"He is fine."_

Yoh growled, his head beginning to ache, and then he began struggling. "What'd you put in him!" He blinked, and then looked quickly to Manta when he heard a small sound. "Manta?" he watched for a moment as Manta seemed to redden further along the cheekbones, and then frowned as the boy began to breathe heavily. "What'd you do to him!"

_"It's a harmless intoxication,"_ he said angrily. _"Unless you would prefer to listen to him suffer."_

-

"Hao-dono!"

Hao looked up quickly upon hearing Amidamaru's voice, and then whipped around as Spirit of Fire appeared. "Amidamaru?"

The samurai came to a stop and looked at him with panic. "Some creatures attacked and took Yoh-dono and Manta-dono!"

"What kinda creatures?" Stone asked with a quirked eyebrow.

The samurai thought, and then shook his head. "They were like serpents. They took them to a cave not far from here, but I can't get in. It's like there's a spell or something."

Ren's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like one of the creeps that went after me."

"Rarf!" the pup yapped in agreement.

"Where on Earth did you find that thing?" Hao demanded.

"Huh? Oh. I found this little guy hiding. I saved him, and then he saved me, didn't you, you cute lil' mutt?" Ren asked with a smile, nuzzling his face against the pup's head.

"More like Horo did. And it could have fleas, you know," Bason said with a jealous pout.

"Hello! My two favorite masters are in danger, here!" Amidamaru said angrily.

"Come on," Stone said, immediately following Amidamaru. "Something's been off about this area anyway. Maybe it'll explain why those guys are retreating."

-

"Y… Y… Yoh…"

The brunette shook as Manta began mewling his name, and then looked away quickly, tears forming. He bit his lip sharply, trying to ignore the sounds, but began to cry as Manta became louder. "Wh-What's wrong with him!"

_"It is necessary to remove any unneeded fluids from his body,"_ the creature thought to his sober captive. _"It truly is amazing, though. By now a human would have mentioned at least four potential mates, yet he still only feels you."_

"Shut up!" Yoh cried. "Quit doing this to him!"

"If you wish, I could switch your rolls and allow him to become food."

Yoh fell silent, staring at the ground shakily. "Manta…"After several long moments, he heard Manta cry out, and then looked up quickly, freezing when he found the blonde's face twisted in an expression of bliss. _"Why does he need Manta at all?"_ Yoh thought, unable to hold in a sob. _"He's so small. He isn't even a snack…"_

"I'm… sorry… Yoh…"

Yoh looked up and found Manta looking at him with a hint of sorrow in his eyes, but his overall expression still blissful. "Manta…"

"I can't… help it… It… feels so good…" He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "Please… Help…"

Yoh shook for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed dangerously, watching as the creature assisted the blonde's intoxicated state and each mewl adding to the building rage. "Get the hell away from him."

_"His will is impressive,"_ the creature replied. _"Ten minutes and still he calls you."_

"I said get away from him!" Yoh said angrily, and then his eyes widened as the creature began to move. "Get away from him!"

_"Whether or not I was partially engineered, I still have a cycle to follow," _he replied. _"For your mate's sake, it would be best to not interfere."_

"Bull! Amidamaru!" He looked around frantically, and then frowned. "Amidamaru, where are you!"

_"The spirit is not permitted in here. If you are so sensitive, then look away."_

Yoh began trembling violently, watching with a mix of helplessness and rage. "Manta…"


	13. Temptation

_**Chapter 13 - **_

"_I want my first time to be magical like the stars..."_

...  
A loud cry echoed out, and then was followed by silence. After a moment, sound returned to the cave.

"Manta…" Yoh whispered, shaking violently as Manta whimpered his name over and over. Every single time Manta had rejected him throughout their relationship hit Yoh all at once, and then he bowed his head, his stomach tying in a tight knot. The boy had always been so shy. It was nearly impossible to get him to play 'Happy Game', and when they did, Manta would always be as quiet as a mouse, if not completely silent. His heart broke further each moment as the blonde's intoxicated cries continued to fill his ears and mind.

"_This isn't magical at all…"_ Yoh thought shakily. _"He's practically drugged. And that… that thing…" _He clenched his teeth while squeezing his eyes shut. _"That thing took him! He lost to some freak that's probably from some galaxy on the other end of the universe!" _Tears ran down his face freely now._ "It should have been me… On Funbari Hill when the stars are bright..."_ A sad smile began to form. _"On his birthday, when the cherry blossoms begin to leave… So they know life will thrive through the winter and into spring again…"_ After a moment, his eyes narrowed hatefully while the gentler thoughts disappeared. He looked up to Manta, rage building again. _"He should be begging because of me. Not this reject of Mother Nature's. I should have been the one to fill him… make him bleed… to... to..."_ He squeezed his eyes shut again.

The largest of the creatures looked at Yoh, sensing his thoughts and distress, and then looked towards the serpent that was closest to Yoh. It made a series of clicking sounds, and then brought Manta down and laid him on the ground in front of Yoh. _"You wish to have him? Go ahead. Your mate needs you,"_ he sneered in Yoh's head.

"Kisama," Yoh growled, and then frowned as the serpent released a fluid that quickly dissolved his restraint, and then he looked to Manta, his eyes still narrowed. For several long minutes he glared, and then finally he moved over the blonde and shook his shoulders. "Manta! Manta, get a hold of yourself!"

Manta gasped at Yoh's touch, and then looked at him, still lost in bliss, yet his eyes showing distant sorrow. "I'm… sorry… It feels… so good…" He squeezed his eyes shut, his face still red while his body temperature remained high.

Yoh growled again, and then slapped Manta across the face, but after a moment he became sad, realizing it only heightened Manta's condition. He stared silently for a long while, his own breathing quickening. "Man…ta…" Slowly he leaned over and caught the thin, quivering lips in a semi-passionate kiss, and then he let out a small moan as Manta wrapped his arms around him and pressed up against him. _"This… This isn't him… He's crying, but he can't do anything else…" _Yoh shook, becoming more and more tempted, and then he closed his eyes. _"When you come to your senses… you'll die, won't you?"_ He opened his eyes and stared at the blonde. _"But… What if I take you? No…" _"Why do I keep thinking these things!"He scooped Manta into his arms and held him lovingly, beginning to sob. "Manta!"

"_He won't mind if you are his mate,"_ the creature stated. _"Follow your nature. He needs you."_

"Shut up!" Yoh yelled while looking up, tears running down his face. "You do something so terrible to him, and you expect me to do the same! You're the worst type of creature!"

"_You can't deny your need to mate for long,"_ he replied. _"Why not now, when he needs it? He was badly overdosed. At this point it makes no difference what is done to him, or by what." _Amusement filled the orange eyes. _"After all. Look at the mess he made for me."_

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Yoh yelled while holding onto Manta more protectively, and then looked down, his voice becoming gentler. "Manta? Can you hear me?"

The younger looked up desperately, his face still red and his body temperature rising. "Y-Yoh…kun… Please…"

Yoh smiled weakly. "Sorry. It'd be like date-rape." His spirit sunk when Manta didn't return amusement. After a minute, he jumped to his feet and stumbled towards the door, holding on tightly to Manta, and then yelped when he was grabbed by the back of the neck and pulled back.

"Y-Yoh…" Manta whimpered, the ever-lasting pleasure torturing his mind. Although he was unaware that the creature actually communicated with Yoh, he did find himself needing Yoh more and more. After a minute, he moaned, feeling himself lose it again, and then the cycle repeated itself, this time more intense than the last. Whenever he could focus for a moment, he looked up at Yoh, gasping and wishing Yoh would take him, but admiring how the brunette continued to defy the creature that had made him like this.

-

_Yoh sat up with a gasp._

"_Yoh-kun?" Manta asked sleepily, awoken by the sudden movement._

_Yoh breathed heavily for several minutes, and then tears filled his eyes. A moment later he buried his face into his hands while beginning to cry._

"_Yoh-kun? What is it?" Manta asked while standing up to be eye-level with the brunette._

"_Manta, I'm sorry," Yoh said while hugging the younger boy tightly suddenly. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you!"_

_The blonde stood still for a moment, stunned by Yoh's sudden outburst, and then returned the hug while stroking the soft, mahogany locks. "Yoh-kun, what are you talking about? We're safe."_

"_All the time," Yoh replied. "I let Ryu and Faust hurt you… The X-Laws almost killed you because of me… You almost died after Fudo made Mosuke possess you… I constantly left you alone with Hao… I abandoned you when you needed me the most… I… I…" He began sobbing harder while burying his face into Manta's shoulder._

"_Yoh-kun…" Manta lifted Yoh's head up in his tiny hands, and then smiled. "That wasn't all your fault. I provoked Faust and Ryu, and if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be so close. If you hadn't left me, I never would have learned to fight for what I care about. The X-Laws are a bunch of poo-poo heads, and it was never your fault when Hao and I ended up alone together."_

"_But… Still…"_

"_Shh…" Manta whispered while leaning forward, and then placed a tender kiss on Yoh's lips. "Yoh-kun, you protected me from what counted."_

_Yoh looked confusedly at the blonde._

_He smiled gently. "You saved me from myself. I wanted to die until you came into my life, and you took away that terrible feeling."_

_For a moment Yoh was silent, and then he hugged Manta tightly again. "Still… From now on I'll always protect you… I'll always save you!"_

_-_

Manta slipped away from his little reminisce world, his body's need becoming all to clear again. _"It's… like Happy Game…"_ he thought shakily. _"But… won't stop… And… almost hurts….. Yoh…"_ He heard Yoh yell something, and then finally he sighed. _"D-Don't save me this time... It won't be the same…" _he thought shakily, and then felt his body flutter inside as he moved his hand. He smiled painfully, his face still red and his temperature still high, and then he swallowed hard.

"Weeelly, welly, welly," Stone's voice echoed through the cave. "Looks like we found ourselves a nest."

Yoh looked up quickly, and sighed in relief when he saw Stone, Hao and Ren, all looking somewhat angry and disturbed.

"Get the hell away from my brother," Hao snarled as Spirit of Fire appeared.

"Yoh-dono, I'm sorry!" Amidamaru cried while appearing by his shaman, and then froze. "Manta-dono?"

"Forget it," Yoh said shakily, and then his eyes dilated when he felt the creature looming over him. Without hesitation he integrated with Amidamaru while reaching for Harusame, and once they were working together, Yoh brought the blade back and sliced the creature's arm off, and then dashed to his friends and looked at Ren. "Please hold Manta," he said, practically shoving the blonde into the Tao's arms, and then he turned and shot towards the creature.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Stone demanded, and then frowned when Hao raised an arm to silence him. "Alright, Mr. Smarty. What's he doing, then?"

Hao was silent as Yoh began slashing fiercely at the creature. "He's getting angry…"

"Manta, what's wrong with you!" Ren demanded angrily, shaking the mewling boy, and then froze. "Aw, man. Yoh's been getting it on with you, hasn't he?"

Stone looked over with a frown, and then growled while taking Manta from him. "Idiot."

"Yoh!" Hao cried as the serpents shot towards his younger brother, and then he focused. "Spirit of Fire!"

The spirit appeared with a growl, and then flames the size of the serpents engulfed the creatures.

"Bason!" Ren called while darting to the king's side, and then while attacking called, "Golden China Dance!"

The largest of the creatures let out a strange-sounding shriek as the remaining of the smaller creatures were destroyed by Ren's attack, and then looked back to Yoh, who was glaring at him hatefully. After a moment, it's teeth bared in a twisted grin_. "It doesn't matter. The true nest is safe."_

Yoh snarled while his eyes narrowed. "Not after what you did to Manta."

"Uh... Yoh?" Hao asked confusedly while staring at his brother.

"Is he talking to that thing?" Ren asked while looking to Stone.

Stone watched with a frown for a few moments, and then shook his head. "This thing is an experiment," he said quietly. "If I'm guessing right, it's part Marl."

"Marl?" Ren asked with a frown as Hao watched Yoh and the creature tensely, confused by the silence and stillness between them.

"The Marl are known to use early discharge to drug unwilling mates," Stone explained while looking down to Manta. "It only takes a little bit, but it seems like this thing decided to fill him up for a long trip."

"What? Yoh demanded while looking back.

Stone looked up, and then frowned. "Basically set him up for numerous mates."

"You," Yoh growled while looking back, and then blinked confusedly when the creature made no attempt to attack.

_"Our good friend is wrong," _it thought quietly. _"In fact, he's very far off." _It chuckled for a moment, and then looked back to Yoh. _"He needs you now. Finish your job and then tend to your little one's needs."_

"Don't dictate me," Yoh said angrily. "I know what he needs, and right now the last thing he needs is that kind of attention!"

_"Glad to see we're on the same thinking level," _it replied. _"After all, Happy Game only calms your desires."_ It smirked darkly at Yoh._ "But he needs you to violate the most sacred place. What did you call it?" _It mused for a moment, and then looked to Yoh. _"Oh, yes. His soft spot."_

Yoh clenched his fists while trembling, seething at the vulgar way the creature used one of his terms. "That is not what a soft spot is," he growled.

"Soft spot?" Stone asked, taking his turn to be dumbfounded.

"Yoh uses it to refer to any place that's super sensitive," Hao replied with a frown. "Like a tickle spot or a place that makes you happy when touched."

"Looks like this guy slandered it," Ren added while readying to attack.

"So it's a nerve that connects to the hormones?" Stone demanded.

"Not really. More like a bunch of nerves that go to the brain," Hao replied, and then blinked while looking to Ren. "Did I say that right?"

"Yes," Ren replied while rolling his eyes.

"Yea! I'm passing biology!" Hao cried while turning into a chibi.

"Moron," Ren muttered while the pup in his vest growled at Hao.

"_If you wish, I could get rid of them and leave you two be,"_ the creature thought with amusement. _"All he wants now is for you to prey on him. To be your toy."_

Yoh's eye twitched slightly. A second later there was a shriek, and then a thud.

"Yoh!" Hao cried, staring with shock at his twin brother, who stared down at the creature, who lay on the ground, slowly dying.

Yoh's lips curled into a smirk at the creature. "How does it feel to suffer like everybody else?" he muttered.

"What is with him?" Ren muttered while stepping back. "He possessed or something?"

"But Amidamaru's with him," Stone replied, watching Yoh quietly. "If that thing was part Marl, it's possible Yoh received it's blood to disorient him."

"That was not a disoriented attack!" Ren snapped.

"Some people don't have the same effect," Stone replied. "The blood is a different make-up. It sometimes causes a temporary change of personality.

Yoh watched the creature quietly until it became completely still, and then sheathed Harusame and walked over and took Manta into his arms. A moment later he began walking towards the exit of the cave, stopping for a moment to look at Hao. "If you so much as _think_ something dirty about Manta again, I'll kill you," he growled while hiding the blonde's body in his embrace, and then continued on his way.

The three were silent for several long minutes, and then Ren looked to Stone. "In case you didn't guess, when Yoh threatens somebody's life, that's a **very** bad thing."

"I never would have guessed," Stone replied sarcastically, and then looked to Hao. "Have your spirit disintegrate the remains. We don't want any surprises popping up."

"So what do we do now?" Ren asked with a frown, following Stone out of the cave.

"We get back to the hotel. If everybody's there, we pack up and head for Izumo," was his reply.

"Izumo?" Hao demanded while running after the two. "Why there?"

"Idiot. They're here for the specimens, and Pig Boy is most likely a trick, whether or not he's on our side. We've already caused too much damage, and I received word from Trenton that the maggots are finished collecting here. Apparently the cargo ships were destroyed. All they have here, now, is getting the specimens and destroying us. Therefore, we want to move away from populated areas."

"You're finally making sense," Ren said irritably while picking up his pace.

Hao came to a stop and frowned at Stone and Ren as they walked ahead, and then looked back quietly. _"What did it tell you, Yoh?"_ he thought quietly, and then broke into a jog after the two.


	14. Homeward

Chapter 14 -

Strawberry eyes glanced down at a Hello Kitty watch for the zillionth time in an hour. A second later they shifted back up nervously to the door that was guarded by two large, menacing-looking creatures with characteristics unlike anything the girl had seen. A moment later she looked down with a nervous whimper. She soon looked up again, hearing the strange alien language over one of the guard's headphones. Having been there for a while, she had started picking up on what the creatures said, though she was still only able to translate parts of it.

"...lab. Mission fail... ... casualties... ... ... human," she weakly translated, and then looked up quickly to the guards. A second later she squealed when they walked over and grabbed her arms and practically dragged her through the hall towards what she had come to believe was the medical lab. When they reached it, they forced her in, and then the door shut. "H-Huh? Wait!" she yelped.

"Don't... worry..."

She looked back frantically, and then stared with teary eyes at the giant xeno-boar that sat across the room, bandaged and looking somewhat defeated. A moment later she ran over and hugged him. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," he muttered while looking away. "Damn that little brat."

She stared up at him quietly, and then looked away quietly. "You didn't hurt anybody, did you?"

He chuckled. "Well, I had to fight Ryu-san's boyfriend, and Shizuka interfered. We pretty well called it a draw, though."

"Did you bring Ryu-san back?" she asked nervously, and then sighed in relief when he shook his head.

"Horo Horo stayed on Earth with the others, though," he said quietly. "Probably for the best. He can tell the others you're safe."

She looked away with an unsure expression. "Hao-sama is very... aggressive." She sighed. "Kino-sama is right. Hao-sama would be better off with Anna-sama. She can look after herself."

He chuckled while tilting her head up. "Don't say such a thing, Tamao. You are just as capable as she is."

The redhead looked away sadly. "I'm good at being a damsel in distress... I can't do anything right. I can't even summon Ponchi and Conchi up here."

He shook his head with a sigh.

-

Keiko winced silently as a cry rang out from the large white van that now rest in front of Funbari Onsen. The wince was partially sadness, and partially from the light pain that accompanied her husband squeezing her shoulder when he heard the sound.

"That's the sickest and wrongest thing I've ever heard of!" Shizuka yelled while glaring at Ren. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

The parents and Ryu looked over to Ren and Shizuka, and then Ryu cleared his throat. "What exactly is going on?" he demanded.

Shizuka turned around and pointed accusingly at Stone, who sat on the porch with a lit cigarette, watching the van with a distant gaze. "Why didn't you tell us what was wrong!" she yelled.

"What was I supposed to tell you?" Stone asked while glancing at her with an irritated expression. "Hi, we were strolling through the woods and found your friend with his hormones drugged for overdrive?" he demanded irritably.

"Excuse me?" Mikihisa demanded. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Well, since your Tao friend can't keep his mouth shut," Stone replied while looking back to the van. "Some of them maggots actually nest once they find a new world. What found your friends was a nester. Not a normal one, mind you. These guys looked like they were in genetics for months, maybe years."

"In a language we can understand, please," Horo snapped angrily.

"Experiments or mutations," the blonde replied thoughtfully. "Nothing I've ever seen, though. Nobody's dumb enough to screw with Marl. The females are bitchier than the ones on Earth, and the males... Well, they make us look pretty damn clean."

"Cute," Ren replied irritably. "Now tell them what's wrong with Manta," he growled, and then smiled when the pup began barking in agreement from his vest.

"If a female doesn't want to mate, the male will use a venom to make her cooperate," he said after taking a puff of the cigarette. "Loosens her up like a date-rape. The chemistry is a little different with humans, though. It works like an intense aphrodisiac. It generally takes less than a teaspoon to get effective results." He looked back to Yoh. "About how much did it give Oyamada?"

"How should I know?" he snapped as Trenton finished giving him a needle.

"I'm not looking for percise numbers," Stone snapped in return, and then growled while shaking his head. "Damn it. Did have a little or a lot?"

The young shaman thought with angry expression for a moment, and then looked up. "It looked like its hand was full, I guess. Not all of it went in, so he had to sorta brush the rest in."

"Now that's an answer," Stone said while rolling his eyes, and then looked to the van. "Judging by the size of the hand, that's probably a little over a cup," he said thoughtfully, and then closed his eyes. "On a normal person, the effects would probably last two to three days. Considering your friend's size, though, it would be foolish to expect anything less than a week." He looked up slowly to Trenton. "Unless I'm forgetting anything?"

Trenton glanced up quietly for a moment, and then looked back to Keiko and Mikihisa. "We can sedate him. That should at least dull some of the... um..." He frowned thoughtfully, and then sighed. "It'll make it less intense for him."

"He's got enough crap in him," Yoh said cooly. "He doesn't need people screwing around with chemicals, too."

"Hmph," Stone replied while shaking his head. "Too bad we're not in Holland," he said thoughtfully while standing up, and then looked over to Ryu. "That's out of the way. How are you doing?"

Ryu sighed thoughtfully, and then looked to the van. "You expect me to trust you?" he asked, though his tone was sad, rather than angry. He winced when he heard Manta cry out again, and then slowly his gaze became distant. "Little Brother..."

Hao glanced over curiously, and then smiled nervously. "Hey, look at it this way, Ryu. At least he feels really good. It's not like he's a little kid or something."

"That's supposed to make him feel better!" Yoh snapped. "Hao, he was raped by an alien for cripes sake!"

The others stared at Hao and Yoh with stunned expressions for a moment, each one surprised and some of them feeling a bit nervous.

"What is with you two?" Shizuka demanded while glaring at the twins. "Yohy, you've been a meanie-weenie since you got home, and Hao... Well... You're acting nice for once."

"It's this thing," Hao explained with a sigh. "I start feeling all screwed up when Yoh gets weird. Everything feels balanced out again if I act more like him."

"Probably because you share King Hao," Lyserg said thoughtfully. "But why is Yoh-kun so weird?"

"Because the Marl's blood is in him," Trenton answered before Stone could. "It takes a few days to flush out of a person's system. Males use it to provoke prey or potential mates if they're bored."

Horo glanced over curiously. "Like the difficulty settings on video games?"

"Well, they aren't much on technology, but that would probably be the best way to describe it. Whatever he had planned for Yoh-kun, he obviously wanted him to be aggressive."

There was another long silence, and then finally Ryu sighed. "I need a drink," he muttered, and then walked into the onsen. He looked around quietly once he reached the first door, and then sighed. It was odd seeing half of Funbari Onsen destroyed while the front half was in perfect contact. He shook his head lightly, and then made his way through the dining room and into the kitchen. After retrieving a bottle of juice, he let out a startled yelp as arms wrapped around him.

"I don't like them," Yoh said in a low voice. "Do you?"

"Um... The aliens?" Ryu asked with a nervous smile.

"No. _Them_. They keep bringing more and more trouble..." Yoh murmured quietly. "Stone could have gotten you killed. They'll look after you though. And Stone brought those guys here... And he'll try to hurt Horo... And..."

"Danna," Ryu said quietly, and then looked down at the hand that rest just below his chest cavity. There was a long silence, and then he sighed while closing his eyes. "No. I don't like them. But if the aliens hadn't come, perhaps they wouldn't be here either."

Yoh closed his eyes while leaning his head against Ryu's back, and then let his hand move up Ryu's shirt so he could rub his chest. "They would have come. But this one is a blessing, ne?"

Ryu remained still as Yoh spoke, and then closed his eyes with a stern sigh. "Not really. It could kill me, right? It's a product of a non-consensual and very bizarre event."

"And yet you were given the gift of fertility," Yoh murmured. "You're going to bring life into the world, Ryu. That's a blessing in itself."

Ryu clenched his fists shakily, and then closed his eyes, unsure if he should be upset or embarrassed. "Bit Brother... This isn't a gift. If I was ready to bring life into the world, I would have found a girlfriend."

Yoh smiled lightly. "It's okay, Ryu. I know you want the baby now." A moment later he tightened the hug, letting his hand rest on the elder's torso. "You love it. And I can tell it loves you too. You're too easy to read, Ryu."

"What do you want, Big Brother?" Ryu asked, not allowing his voice crack. Although he didn't want to admit it, what Yoh said was right. Despite the risks and circumstances he had been growing fond of the idea of being a 'mommy'. He didn't have much time to think before his friends convinced him to come home, but after passing out, it was as though he had a chance to think about what happened, and once he awoke he felt much less distressed over the matter. It didn't change the fact that it wouldn't be human, but it was still nice to consider miracles. How Yoh knew of his feelings was beyond him, but there was some relief that somebody understood.

"Ryu..." Yoh said quietly. "Ryu, I need you to help me. The others won't let me stay with Manta. I want you to go with Manta and make sure Faust doesn't do something to him."

The brunette looked back curiously. "Yoh, I'm certain Faust won't let Manta be harmed."

"Don't let him do anything," Yoh replied harshly. "Putting anything else in him might kill him... or worse."

Ryu was quiet for several minutes as he thought, and then slowly nodded in agreement. "I suppose that's true..."

"That thing that did this to Manta... He said Manta would be okay if the cycle was followed through. I think it would be best if we didn't interfere." He was silent for a moment, and then sighed while looking down at the floor. "And like Hao said... Manta feels really good right now."

"But how will he feel when he recovers?" Ryu asked, earning more silence.

Minutes passed, and then finally the silence was broken as Ren entered the room. "Hate to break up your Kodak moment, but we're leaving," he said with a frown. "Stone's guys found Anna and they went ahead to Izumo."

"Right," Yoh replied quietly, and then looked up to Ryu. "I won't tell," he said quietly, and then released the older shaman and followed Ren out.

Before long they had departed in two vans. As Yoh had requested, Ryu rode with Manta, along with Faust, Keiko, Mikihisa, and Horo, while Trenton drove the first van. Stone drove the second van, accompanied by Shizuka Lyserg and Ren, who sat in the back seats, Horo, who sat in the center on his own, and Yoh, who sat in the front passenger seat.

"How long is the drive?" Stone asked as he drove out onto the road ahead of Trenton and the others.

"A little over eight hours," Yoh replied, staring distractedly out the window.

"Alright, then," the older man replied thoughtfully.

"You know, I just had a thought, Ren," Hao said while looking back to the young Tao.

"Wow. Hao had a thought," Ren said sarcastically while petting the pup, who was napping in his lap. "Too bad we didn't bring champaign. We could have celebrated."

"I'll burn you," Hao muttered irritably. "Seriously, though. Ryu gave an alien a blow job, and Manta got butt-raped by another one. I guess that means you've been out-kinked, huh?" he laughed.

"Eww! Hao, that's gross!" Shizuka shrieked.

"Taking Tamao's place I see," Lyserg snickered.

"No, it was just plain gross! He DID just insult your boyfriend, you know!" Shizuka yelled.

"Huh? Hey! She's right!" Lyserg cried while looking back angrily at Hao.

Ren stared as Lyserg, Shizuka and Hao argued with each other, and then groaned. It was already getting to be a long trip.


	15. Worrisome Travel

_**Chapter 15 - Worrisome Travel**_

"How much longer?" Hao sighed, stretched out in his seat lazily. It was the first time he would be in Izumo since he was born, and by no means did he expect the trip to be so long. Whenever he had wanted to go somewhere, Spirit of Fire had always been sure not to prolong the trip. An 8-hour car ride was beginning to grind his nerves, as well as give his mind a bored haze.

"Quit your whining," Shizuka whimpered, her knees tucked tightly to her chest and her face hidden in them. "You've got a whole seat to yourself, you know."

Lyserg glanced to the girl for a moment, and then smirked. "Aww... Lil' Shizzy getting car-sick?"

"It's not funny!" she cried while looking up at him, and then yelped while hiding her face quickly.

Ren watched as his new pet, which he had named Dusty, whimpered and crawled over to her curiously, and then smiled slightly when he began licking lightly at her hand. "Cute little mutt, aren't you?" he cooed, and then glanced to her with a frown. "Too crowded?" he asked thoughtfully, and then looked to Hao after she nodded. "Hao, move your butt so she can move up."

"Why should I?" Hao demanded while looking back irritably.

"For one, you don't need so much space," Ren snapped. "Shizuka needs some space."

"So she can vomit all over me? I don't think so," Hao replied angrily.

"She's claustrophobic, Hao," Yoh said irritably while looking back.

"Well then Lyserg can move up," Hao replied. "It's bad enough we're stuck in here. I don't want her getting sick on me."

Lyserg opened his mouth to say something, and then stopped while thinking. "Hmm... Not a bad idea," he said thoughtfully while undoing his seatbelt, and then he awkwardly climbed over the seat and settled in next to Hao. "This way I can hit you easier."

"Cute," Hao said with narrowed eyes, and then crossed his arms over his chest and looked ahead with a pout.

Ren watched as Shizuka scooted over, and then smiled lightly while reaching over to rub her back. "Better?"

"A lil'," she mumbled, and then glanced up slightly. "How come you aren't so nice to Horo?" she said quietly.

"Hmm... You're his cousin," Ren explained thoughtfully. "I don't have to respect him because he's my boyfriend, but you're his family."

"Pleh. We barely know each other," Shizuka said with a weak smile, and then looked ahead. "I guess it makes sense, though." She looked down at the seat after speaking, and then smiled when she found Dusty pawing at the teddy bear that was held to her waist with a belt. "Hey, fuzz-ball," she said with a small smile, and then glanced up. "Where'd you find him?"

"Hmph," Ren replied with a slight chuckle. "Stupid mutt saved my life," he replied, and then scooped Dusty into his hands and began rubbing lightly behind one of the floppy ears, "didn't you?" he cooed.

Shizuka smiled weakly, and then glanced down. "Hmm... Animals really bring out your better side," she said thoughtfully.

"Why not? They're not the morons that are polluting the planet," he replied while scratching lightly under Dusty's jaw, and then smiled when the pup gave a yap of approval.

"Aa... It was cute when you volunteered at the shelter," she replied, and then looked up. "You never looked so happy. I thought you might marry that one cat."

"Not into bestiality," Ren replied thoughtfully, and then laughed when the puppy began licking him, tickling certain points on his face and neck.

Shizuka watched quietly, and then looked at the floor. "So... Will you break up with Horo if they can't turn him back?"

Ren's laughter died down as he placed Dusty in his lap, and then he thought quietly for a moment. "Nah..."

Hao and Lyserg looked back with disturbed expressions, unable to ignore the two any longer.

"He's some giant pig thing," Lyserg said with a twitching eyebrow.

"You just said you aren't into animals," Hao added with wide eyes.

"Morons. I said I'm not into bestiality," Ren snapped, and then smirked while anticipating their next reaction. "I never said anything about xenophilia."

Shizuka watched with a stunned expression as their friends began to make gagging sounds, and then she looked back to Ren. "Cousin is still Cousin, huh?"

"Sure. Maybe he's big and hairy now, but he's still the same, dumb ol' mutt inside," Ren replied. "I'll just hire a consort or something."

Hao looked up, and then smirked stupidly. "Oh, you will, huh?"

Shizuka frowned, and then leaned over slightly. "You know he's gonna tell Horo, right?" she whispered.

"Of course," Ren replied with a cool expression, and then smirked. "Just like he's going to tell Horo that I'm considering you for that consort," he added loudly enough for Yoh and Stone to hear as well.

"Wh-what!" Shizuka yelped while turning bright red.

"Bucchama," Bason sighed sadly, knowing his master was only plotting to get a rise out of the older Ainu later.

"I'm not some prostitute, you know!" Shizuka shrieked while pointing accusingly.

"I never said you were. I said you would be my consort," Ren replied simply.

"That's the same thing!"

"I gotta go with her on this one, Ren," Lyserg said with a slight frown.

"Hmm?" Hao quirked an eyebrow, and then looked to the British shaman with a smug grin. "You obviously don't come from good blood if you don't know there's a difference."

"And that would be?" the younger shamans demanded in unison.

"Simple," Ren replied while crossing his arms over his chest, Dusty sitting snobbishly in his master's lap. "Prostitutes are the guys and girls you see on the streets, going around with whoever they want."

"Consorts are hired long-term, by high-status families," Hao continued with a proud smile.

Shizuka and Lyserg stared unbelievingly at the older shamans, and then Lyserg cleared his throat. "So what you're really trying to say..."

"...is that a consort is a rich prostitute," Shizuka ended, her eye twitching.

"It's not the same!" Hao and Ren shouted.

"It's all the same!" Lyserg and Shizuka cried in reply.

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Not!"

"To!"

Stone gritted his teeth as the teenagers argued, and then glanced to Yoh for a second. "Do they always fight like this?"

"Normally Lyserg and Hao are fighting Shizuka and Ren," he replied with a distracted sigh.

The blonde bit his lip as the fight became louder, and then he whipped his attention to the back. "If you kids don't shut up, I'm pulling over!" he shouted angrily.

"Hey, you're not my dad!" all four yelled back, and continued fighting.

"So noisy..." Yoh sobbed pathetically.

"Well, it could be dead silent like with the others," Tokagero sighed while appearing behind the shaman.

"Hmm?" Yoh looked back with a worried expression. "What do you mean?"

"Faust bought some ice at the last stop," he explained thoughtfully. "He was using it to bring Manta's fever down. Knocked the kid out for the most part." He crossed his arms while frowning thoughtfully. "Everybody's afraid they'll wake him up, so they're not saying anything."

Yoh looked at the bandit with a sad expression, and then turned his attention towards the window. "Manta..."

Tokagero watched quietly for a moment, a twinge of guilt nagging at him, and then carefully he leaned forward to whisper to the shaman. "Hey... That alien kid's been moving around. Ryu ain't in pain anymore. And the way he's been talking to your mom... I think maybe he's gonna try to keep it."

Yoh tilted his head towards the bandit slightly, a weak smile forming at the spirit's words. "Really?"

"Yeah," he replied with a grin. "Good ol' Ryu. A pushover to the end."

Yoh remained quiet for a moment, and then he looked up as a thought crossed his mind. "Tokagero, don't leave him alone. He might need you."

"The guy needs his head examined," Tokagero replied with a smirk and a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, don't tell Amidamaru I told you about Manta. He'll hurt me if he finds out."

"Whacha whispering about?"

The two looked back and became nervous when they found the other shamans staring at them with wide, curious baby eyes.

* * *

"How much longer should it be?" Trenton asked in a hushed voice while glancing to Mikihisa.

"Five minutes," the older man replied, and then looked back to his wife. "How are things back there?"

"Better than they could be," she replied softly, dabbing a wet cloth against Manta's chest once the ice had melted in it. Aside from Manta finally falling asleep, the drive had been long and uneventful. There was little to be discussed, aside from a private conversation that Ryu and Keiko were inconsistently holding. She glanced up to the teen worriedly, and then smiled weakly. "You look radiant, Ryu-san."

"He does?" Mikihisa asked dumbly, overhearing his wife.

"Looks like the same dumb lug he always was," Horo snorted, and then earned a sharp glance from Faust. He immediately covered his mouth to look down at Manta, and then smiled nervously when the boy didn't move.

"Um... Thank you, Keiko-san," Ryu replied sheepishly, and then looked down. "To be honest, though, I feel drained. A little nauseous too." He blushed lightly, and then bowed his head to hide a small smile. "I feel rather contented, though," he said very quietly.

"It's normal," she replied with a smile. "I don't know if I should say you'll be a mother or a father. I mean, mothers are the ones to carry and give birth, but you have the father's body."

"I know sometimes gay guys enjoy being called mother," Horo stated thoughtfully. "Ryu's gay, and he's carrying a kid. I think it's only natur..." He looked to Ryu quickly, who had let out a sharp cry and leaned over, holding his torso.

"Ryu-san?" Keiko asked worriedly.

"That... was some kick," Ryu said with a weak smile, and then glanced up at the mother. "I'll live."

"Unless it's trying to escape," Faust said with a worried frown.

"It's too early," Trenton said distractedly. "It won't come out until it's exoskeleton has hardened. That's not for another two days."

"Ever hear of premature labor?" Mikihisa asked with a frown, remembering when his sons had been born.

"Yoh... kun..." Manta mumbled, a light tremor becoming visible.

"Oh, dear," Faust said worriedly.

"Hey," Horo said with a frown. "Faust, why don't you give him some female hormones?" he asked. "Isn't that supposed to counter testosterone?"

"Human testosterone," Trenton replied for the doctor. "That's the first thing I said when Stone..." He trailed off for a moment, and then shook his head. "Stone was involved in the first case I handled. He was pretty damn tough for a kid. We gave that method a shot. Even tried it with different species. Mammal, fish, reptile. I tried it. In some cases, it made things worse. Really all you can do is keep his fever down and wait it out. If you happen to have some marijuana, it can help ease mental and physical pain. That's why Stone mentioned Holland before we left."

"So then Stone has been through this?" Mikihisa asked with a frown.

"I never said that, now did I? He just likes a joint now and then. Frankly, I wish he would smoke it more often. I don't particularly want to catch cancer because of his burning rat poison and tar."

"Second hand smoking," Keiko said with a frown. "Hmph. Well he certainly won't be bringing those dirty things onto the estate."

"Good luck stopping him," he replied while shaking his head. "Hey, is this it?"

Mikihisa looked ahead, and then nodded with a frown. "Dammit. I never thought I'd see the day where Mansumi invited me into my _own_ home."

Keiko looked up through the window and frowned when she saw one a helicopter marked, 'Oyamada Co.' resting in one of the rock gardens. "Mother and Father are going to be so angry," she sighed.

"I won't blame them for Mansumi," Miki said. "If they start with me, Keiko, there's going to be a problem."

"I'll tell Father to be nice to you," she said with a smile, and then leaned up and kissed him lightly behind the ear. "You have to be nice too, though."

* * *

**A/n**: Here you are, SuperCutie. Dedicated to you. The creative flow has been undammed! And for everybody, reviews are wonderful encouragement for more. :)


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